Dopamine is a hormone and neurotransmitter released by the hypothalamus. It has many functions in the brain, including important roles in behavior and cognition, motor activity, motivation and reward (Wikipedia). It is released naturally in rewarding experiences such as food, sex, some drugs, and neutral stimuli that becomes associated with them.
Dopamine is believed to provide a teaching signal to parts of the brain responsible for acquiring new behavior. It is commonly associated with the pleasure system of the brain, providing feelings of enjoyment and reinforcement to motivate a person to perform certain activities.
It has been theorized that dopamine pathways are pathologically altered in addicted persons. With the study read in class, biomedical solutions were investigated. Some results were positive, but you also have to face the consequences of the side-effects of the drugs you are using. For example, one drug which has been studied, naltrexone is linked to severe liver damage. Why not try a more holistic approach, like qigong, for example. Qigong has been proven to resolve digestive problems, asthma, arthritis, insomnia, pain, depression, and anxiety, as well as cancer, coronary heart disease, and cases of HIV/AIDS. Tests have also shown that qigong triggers the body’s relaxation response by reducing the level of dopamine, an enzyme that controls neurological activity (David Eisenberg, M.D., a clinical research fellow at Harvard Medical School). A better question to ask would be, “Can we lower the levels of dopamine ourselves?’ I believe by that by adopting a more natural approach to life, we can re-educate ourselves to be less dependent on what is perceived as desire, and shift towards a more holistic and rhythmical approach to life.
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