dopamine

Dopamineis the neurotransmitter in the brain which maintains attentive pro-activeness. It manages cognitive and motor pursuit (mind and body action), alertness and caution, attention and focus, motivation and reward.

Dopamine is produced in many areas of the brain, but most of all in the midbrain where it is important for motivation and habituation. Dopamine neurons are especially active when an expected reward comes about, but slow down when the award does not materialise. In other words, dopamine plays a role in our own personal experience of the impact we make upon the outer world. This ranges from self-confidence to sexual arousal. Too much dopamine gives us excessive will and self-confidence, but not necessarily happiness or joy. Extreme amounts of dopamine could amplify this to a sense of absolute self-value where personal abstractions and symbols become unqualified truths, such as when we see a bird landing on our window sill as literally a messenger from God. Conversely, low dopamine reduces our attention and goal-centeredness to the outer world and our desire to attain. However, there could still be some enjoyment, as seen during quiet meditation. A lack of dopamine may eventually even reduce our ability to focus the direction of a physical movement, from small hand movements to walking. This is visible in Parkinson’s disease, a condition in which dopamine is unavailable to certain parts of the brain.