Dopamine acts as an effective neurotransmitter. It is the perfect chemical messenger, which initiates signal transmission to the brain and other vital organs of living organisms. Dopamine plays a vital role in every animal and human beings – even in vertebrates and invertebrate creatures.
Dopamine is a chemical signal, which passes information between neurons. The signal is released from one neuron and transferred through the synapse before bumping against the receptors of another neuron. Although the process may sound simple, it is not in actual terms. It is rather a very complex process when the network within the human brain is taken into consideration.
Production of dopamine
Production of dopamine in the human body occurs at several sections of the brain, specially the region of the ventral tegment and substantia nigra. It is essentially a neurohormone, which is released from the hypothalamus.
The action of dopamine
Dopamine as medication acts highly over the nervous system. Intake of this hormone as medicine increases blood pressure and the rate of the heart beat. However, it is to be noted that due to the natural barrier of blood and brain, dopamine as a medication drug cannot have any direct influence on the central nervous system of the human body.
A precursor of dopamine – levodopa, proves highly effective for patients suffering from certain brain diseases like dopa-responsive dystonia and Parkinson’s disease.
Eating behavior and dopamine on the human body
The eating behavior of living beings affect dopamine levels at a direct ratio. Our body deals with lower percentage of dopamine level in case the duration between our meals is extended. Therefore, it is highly necessary to have smaller amount of meals frequently in order to sustain higher level of dopamine production in the human body. People with lower dopamine level tend to overeat due to lack of a dopamine response.
Another factor related to dopamine is that in case our brains are conditioned in connecting any bad food habit with any particular mood or mental state, it is very hard to reverse the system. It has been proved to be true involving people conditioned to associate with any particular type of food with any deed; eg., eating sweet after performing any good deed.
Diet and dopamine
We should always look for fruitful avenues for training our brains to differentiate between good food and harmful food. We should take care and steps to train ourselves to crave for good food and avoid super sugary and calorie-packed junk stuff. Staying away from them helps our brain stop asking for their taste. This would eventually play a greater role to boost dopamine requirements whenever you go for any healthy food.
Having frequent meals in smaller quantity would also lead the human body to seek less dopamine through unhealthy food. Many researchers have also suggested the key to maintain healthy dopamine level by consuming Vitamin E, Folate, Vitamin B6 and even iron rich food. Studies also reveal that antioxidant rich red wine and berries also play a vital role in promoting healthier dopamine neurons. Garcinia cambogia is another supplement that helps control appetite by controlling dopamine levels.
Dopamine and pleasure seeking behavior
Dopamine is a high utility chemical that is released in the human brain for mediating pleasure. The chemical is released when humans encounter several pleasurable situations and even seek other pleasurable occupation or activity. Food, sex and other abuse of drug can also be listed as dopamine stimulants that help in releasing the chemical in the brain. The chemical is particularly released in areas of the prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens.
Dopamine affecting vomiting and nausea
Dopamine, as an effective neurotransmitters, implicates a tremendous role in controlling vomiting and nausea through various interaction in the zone of chemoreceptor trigger.
Human body movement and dopamine
The basal ganglia is a section of the human brain, which is highly responsible for effective human movements. In turn, a certain level of dopamine is necessary to regulate the peak function of the basal ganglia. Dopamine is largely responsible to reduce the influence of the indirect pathway. It increases the actions of direct pathways. Deficiency of dopamine secretion in the brain leads to delay of movement and even uncoordinated human movement in major cases. On the other hand, excessive release of the secretion may lead to initiate unnecessary movements.
Dopamine and mental health
Dopamine is also connected to the mental health of human beings. It is scientifically proved that highly creative people tend to release less dopamine than less creative ones. Less dopamine leads to less filtration of information before they reach the brain. As a result, innumerable creative people have a genuine tendency to behave in an uncanny manner under many normal situations.
Dopamine therefore is responsible to have a direct and even indirect influence on human behavior, and thereby, upon human health too. The complexity even reveals the power any human brain is able to unleash with release of even a single molecule of dopamine.