Where is my dopamine?

“...early human life was not all lions, long treks and starry nights lying underneath the moon munching on hallucinogenic mushrooms.”

Dopamine pathway

Do you want to regain control of your mind's attention and reward systems? Are you feeling overwhelmed by the constant pursuit of online notifications and social stimulation? Join us for a neuroscience deep dive into your dopamine pathways and attention systems.

By the end, you'll learn evidence-based techniques to break the cycle and feel clearer and less dependent on your phone and social media. I have a feeling the Instagram algorithm won’t like this post.

One step at a time

Let's rewind. What do we mean by "attention and reward"? While it's not always relevant, it's crucial to understand the evolution of our brain cells and biochemistry. Humans evolved on a hostile but also nourishing planet, with minds wired for threat detection, pursuit of safety and pleasure, and a drive for novelty. Let's examine each of these.

Early human life was not all lions, long treks and starry nights lying underneath the moon munching on hallucinogenic mushrooms. (See McKenna 'Stone Ape' theory). Clearly humans marched across the planet and found themselves in diverse environments with diverse challenges. Just like we do today.

Go deeper

Before we go any deeper - I would invite you to take a deep breath in through the nose and a long breath out through the mouth. Do two more of these. See if you can stretch your attention to make it to the end of this series.

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Threat detection

To detect a threat we need sensory input. That can take the form of vision, smell etc. Responding to a novel or conditioned stimuli that can cause us harm is quite fundamental to the survival of the human species. If your community was damaged by a large forest fire - it is clear that the unexpected smell of smoke might trigger some alarm bells.

‘Back in the day’ the stimuli and response dance might have been a little simpler. Perhaps there was an environmental or social threat in the community. But in that instance it was limited by immediacy and proximity. So you did not hear about threats on the other side of the planet. But rather if there was a leadership challenge in your small community or a predatory creator stalking around - there might be a tension and a release.

Digital disaster

However now we live in a world of constant low grade tension. Just when you were feeling relaxed and exultant - you opened your phone and are reminded to be fearful, anxious and aware of all of the never ending dilemmas. Now - of course many people are living in a situation where their immediate situation is desperate, challenging and dangerous and they do not need digital input to feel stressed or overwhelmed.

My point is that, no matter our current circumstances, access to the internet exposes us to a flood of information that capitalizes on our "negativity bias," a cognitive distortion that leads us to prioritize and give excessive attention to frightening or negative information. This is related to our evolutionary threat detection systems.

A few phone calls

My point is that our threat detection systems start with sensory input. This could be the smell of smoke or simply browsing a news website. However, it's important to note that a fear or threat response can also be triggered by thoughts or dreams.

The amygdala, which we previously discussed, receives some of this information and then sends out alerts. The hypothalamus and sympathetic nervous system are usually on speed dial, with the hypothalamus sending hormonal signals to the body to prepare for a threat. The sympathetic nervous system releases adrenaline and other chemicals to increase heart rate and respiratory rate in anticipation of a physical threat.

Part two coming soon

Now here is the catch the majority of modern threats, particularly those found online, do not require a physical response in terms of movement, action or defence. And yet our body.....

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Related articles

• References

  "Negativity Bias in Human Attention and Memory: Origins and Functionality" by J. R. Skowronski and A. C. Amodio

  "The Role of the Amygdala in Fear and Anxiety" by M. Davis and L. Whalen

  "Dopamine Pathways and Reward-Related Learning" by R. M. Carelli

  "The Interaction of Attention and Emotion in the Human Brain" by R. J. Davidson and T. F. Hare

  "Social Neuroscience and Public Health: The Evolution of the Dopamine Pathway and Its Role in Substance Abuse and Dependence" by J. T. Cacioppo and L. G. Tassinary

  "The Neural Basis of Dopamine-Mediated Reward: A Review of Animal and Human Studies" by A. A. Grace

  "The Function of Dopamine in the Nucleus Accumbens in Reward and Addiction" by J. H. Berke and N. D. Hyman

  "The Corticolimbic Dopamine System and Addiction: An Update" by J. H. Preston and L. W. L. Chow

  "Dopamine, Learning and Motivation: Insights from Parkinson's Disease" by T. J. Wichmann and A. Delong

  "The Neuroscience of Attention and Distraction" by J. A. Gazzaley and M. R. Morrone

• Disclaimer

  This articles does not constitute medical or mental health advice. These practices are not for everyone and are not a substitute for ongoing healthcare from a medical or mental health professional. Please seek medical advice if you have any concerns about your health.