Tag Archives: Dopamine and addiction

Dopamine and Norepinephrine Contributing to Addiction?

March 20, 2015

Dopamine and Norepinephrine and Their Contribution to Addiction

Dopamine and norepinephrine are very crucial neurotransmitters whose functions can never be underestimated. These are some of the most crucial neurotransmitters in the body. In particular, dopamine has very many functions in the body but to many people it is famous for its good feeling effects that it is always identified with but this should not be the case as it has functions beyond the mesolimbic pathway. In the brain dopamine plays such roles as: It plays a big role in starting movement, and the destruction of dopamine neurons in an area of the brain called the substantia nigra is what produces the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Dopamine is involved in the frontal cortex in executive functions like attention and feelings among others. In the rest of the body, dopamine is involved in nausea, in kidney function, and in heart function. Though only relevant to most people when it comes to such aspects as motivation, addiction, attention or lust, dopamine is a crucial neurotransmitter that also does vital functions in different pathways. Therefore dopamine should not only be limited to the mesolimbic pathway. A pathway which starts with cells in the ventral tegmental area, buried deep in the middle of the brain, which send their projections out to places like the nucleus accumbens and the cortex.  the levels of dopamine is naturally controlled by the brain, for example when a person engages  in pleasurable activities the brain will increase the level of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens, however during addiction the dopamine signaling in this area is changed. For any drug to have any pleasurable feeling to the user then the level of dopamine must be increased and this is what causes euphoric feelings that drug users will do anything to achieve.

Dopamine

Dopamine depletion and cocaine addiction

Despite one of the most dangerous drugs of pleasure, cocaine has remained to be one of the drugs that are highly abused worldwide. Cocaine works in such a way that it targets the dopamine which is a neurotransmitter related with euphoric feelings. When taken cocaine will cause a surge of dopamine extracellular in limbic areas, specifically, nucleus accumbens it is this surge that causes euphoric effects cocaine is known for. It is the euphoric properties of cocaine that lead to the development of chronic abuse, and appear to involve the acute activation of central dopamine neuronal systems. Dopamine plays a key role in reward system and stimulation behavior. However, when a person uses cocaine for a long time his neurotransmitter and neuroendocrine alterations will eventually occur. Dopamine depletion is hypothesized to result from overstimulation of these neurons and excessive synaptic metabolism of the neurotransmitter. It is this depletion of dopamine that may underlie dysphoric aspects of cocaine abstinence, and cocaine cravings.  With many research findings on cocaine relations with dopamine, it is clear that cocaine addiction stems from the depletion of synaptic dopamine in the mesolimbic dopamine reward system, leading to a dysphoric withdrawal state that drives cocaine seeking to restore dopamine to normal, drug-dependence level.

After using cocaine for a long time, your brain will be conditioned to use cocaine in order to raise cocaine to the required levels and this result in addicted brain that can’t function without taking cocaine. At this stage it will be hard for an addict to quit using this drug as every time you try to quit all the withdrawal symptoms will set in thereby causing addiction and dependence thereafter. These cravings contribute not only to addiction but to relapse after a hard-won sobriety especially when the addict encounters triggers.

Norepinephrine and Drug Addiction

Norepinephrine is a very vital neurotransmitter in the brain that is also one of the most abundant in the brain. It is important for such roles as selective attention, general arousal, and stress reactions in challenging environments. Norepinephrine has been implicated by several studies as a key mediator of drug reward for three primary reasons. First, the noradrenergic pathways support intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) and modulate drug-induced changes in ICSS threshold. Secondly, the biochemical activity of psychostimulant drugs includes blockade of Norepinephrine reuptake and enhancement of Norepinephrine release and thirdly, compounds that interfere with Norepinephrine synthesis or signaling influence drug self-administration. The idea that drugs of abuse act via the endogenous reward systems in the brain first arose when psychostimulants such as amphetamine and cocaine have been found to alter support intracranial self-stimulation thresholds. One interpretation of these results was that Norepinephrine mediates the effect of psychostimulants on support intracranial self-stimulation, because these drugs cause Norepinephrine release, block Norepinephrine reuptake or do both.

Dopamine

In a 1970s research done by Davis WM and Smith SG in a study titled: Catecholaminergic mechanisms of reinforcement: direct assessment by drug-self-administration, it was found that catecholamines were important in the mediation of opiate self-administration. in this research, a series of experiments showed that depletion of Norepinephrine and dopamine with amphetamine , a drug which is known to inhibit tyrosine hydroxylase prevents or attenuates the self-administration of morphine in rodents and in nonhuman primates as was shown earlier by Pozuelo and Kerr in 1972.

Finally, Drug addiction is a vice that should be fought by all means that is why we at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center are committed to availing help to addicts and offering them a place to call home. We offer NER Treatment and Amino acid therapy that are the most effective approaches to addiction treatment and recovery. You call on Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) today and begin your journey to victory against addiction.

Dopamine and Norepinephrine and Their Roles in Causing Addiction

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Dopamine and Addiction

April 1, 2014

Dopamine and Addiction-Their roles

Brain

The brain is affected by both genes and environmental factors

Dopamine is neurotransmitter in the brain that plays vital roles in a variety of different behaviors. The major behaviors dopamine affects are movement, cognition, pleasure, and motivation. Dopamine is an essential component of the basal ganglia motor loop, as well as the neurotransmitter responsible for controlling the exchange of information from one brain area to another. However, it is the role that dopamine plays in pleasure and motivation that attracts the most neurobiologists attention.

In certain areas of the brain when dopamine is released it gives one the feeling of pleasure or satisfaction. These feelings of satisfaction become desired, and the person will grow a desire for the satisfaction. To satisfy that desire the person will repeat behaviors that cause the release of dopamine. For example food and sex release dopamine. That is why people want food even though their body does not need it and why people sometimes need sex. These two behaviors scientifically make sense since the body needs food to survive, and humans need to have sex to allow the race to survive. However, other, less natural behaviors have the same effect on one’s dopamine levels, and at times can even be more powerful. Often these behaviors can result in addiction due their effect on dopamine, and that addiction can have negative effects on a person’s well-being. Two of such behaviors are

Dopamine and Addiction-Cocaine

Cocaine is by far the more severe of the two in terms of addiction. Cocaine chemically inhibits the natural dopamine cycle. Normally, after dopamine is released, it is recycled back into a dopamine transmitting neuron. However, cocaine binds to the dopamine, and does not allow it to be recycled. Thus there is a buildup of dopamine, and it floods certain neural areas. The flood ends after about 30 minutes, and the person is left yearning to feel as he or she once did. That is how the addiction begins. With time adaptation builds up due to the fact that the person is consistently behaving in the same way that he or she had the first time. However, the individual cannot, because dopamine is also released when something pleasurable yet unexpected occurs. During the first time, the person expects the effect, thus less dopamine is released, and the experience is less satisfying. This cause explains why gambling releases dopamine.

Many studies have been done which targeted neural response to rewards. The findings were in agreement that when one performed an action repeatedly, and is given a reward randomly, the dopamine levels rises. If the reward is administered for example every four times the action was performed, the dopamine levels remained constant. Whereas when no reward is given dopamine levels dropped. These random rewards can be seen in gambling and since the outcome is based on chance, one does may not know prior if he or she will win. Therefore, if he or she wins, dopamine levels increases. However, unlike cocaine, gambling causes addiction in relatively low levels of participants. This is because Cocaine’s chemical input is much more influential on dopamine levels than gambling’s behavioral input meaning only people whose dopamine levels are low, become addicted to gambling.

Dopamine and Addiction-Variance in dopamine levels

This is may be due to genetics, environment related or a combination of factors. A study concluded that pathological gamblers most often experienced traumatizing experiences when they were younger. Since most people who became addicted to gambling have low dopamine levels, and also that same group usually has endured a traumatic experience, it was concluded the overall dopamine levels can change due to environmental factors. This supports the opinion that both the mind and the brain can change due to environmental factors.

However, another study has discovered that a gene related to dopamine is sported twice as often in pathological gamblers than non-gamblers. This view supports the observation that dopamine levels are genetic. We can therefore come up with two possible observations. Either both genetics and environmental factors effect ones brain anatomy and mind simultaneously, or that environmental factors can affect genes which in turn affect ones brain and mind.

Dopamine and Addiction-Why is risk and reward a trigger for the release of dopamine?
It’s scientifically logical that sex and food release dopamine, because they are essential for life the life of human beings. Risk and reward are not.  It is believed that everything happens for a reason; meaning, there must be a scientific explanation for the increase of dopamine levels as a result of risk and reward. Let us look at it this way, that the human race is different from other species on this planet not only by its ability to reason, but also its ability to create and be innovative. Therefore nature dictates that humans be creative and innovative, and for this to happen a person should have some level of satisfaction when one accomplishes an innovation.

To accomplish an innovation one has to take risks. It is risky to try to do something that no other being on earth has ever accomplished. Therefore, there must be a reward other than material that one gets when he or she accomplishes the innovation, otherwise that person would not take the risk. The reward here is the release of dopamine and the feeling of satisfaction. The problem with this process is that not only can one be satisfied after a major risk and accomplishment, but that one can also be satisfied through constant minute risks and accomplishments. Gambling is an example of this.

The feeling of satisfaction that dopamine exhibits are so strong that one can often lose his or her ability to reason in order to achieve satisfaction. It is then the unconscious that takes over and begins to make certain decisions. The brain develops neural circuits that unconsciously assess reward. Since dopamine plays an active role in these circuits, people will act in what they think is in their best interest, when in fact the only interest it satisfies is the release of dopamine. This can be exemplified in gambling where one insists on gambling even though he or she knows that the odds are against them.

This is the case in all casino games, where the games are structured for the house to win. Probability and reason no longer are the most important factors in decision making. The unconscious need for the release of dopamine becomes most important. This supports the observation that the unconscious plays a vital role in decision making.

From this article of dopamine and addiction we can make some fair general observations about the brain that:

  • Both a chemical (cocaine) and a behavior (gambling) can have the same effect on the brain.
  • The brain is affected by both genes and environmental factors, and that most likely the environmental factors affect genes which affect the brain.
  • Dopamine makes humans take risks so that they may achieve greater innovations.
  • Through gambling the unconscious is constantly making important decisions.

Dopamine and Addiction-Their roles

 

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