Dopamine - McDonald's French Fries, a Kiss or Crystal Meth - The Choice is Yours.

32 Substance and Activities and Their Percentage Boost Over Baseline Levels

You may have heard of a little rascal named Dopamine. This tiny molecule lives in your brain and body. Even if you're not hungry, it'll makes you crave that yummy pizza from the commercial you just saw. Not just a neurotransmitter, as a catecholamine, Dopamine lives a double life. It's true that it's primary residence is in your brain as a neurotransmitter but it also roams around your body like a nomad, acting like a hormone. And it makes you crave things

Photo Credit: Geek-Topia with editing by Laura L. Walsh, Psy.D.

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We're going to talk about just how much of a dopamine boost you get from different substances and activities but to really get it, you'll need to understand the basics. In the CNS, it has a sensible day job; relaying quick, instant messenger-like signals around your brain and spinal cord. It tells the system, "Hey, we like this. How do we get more of it?" It’s not about pleasure directly — it drives motivation, curiosity, reward-seeking, and habit formation.

It's side-gig as a hormone is all over the place. It's a hustler molecule; a jack-of-all-trades. In your body, it send slower, email-like messages that balance out signals from other hormones throughout your body. It helps regulate blood pressure, insulin and digestion, as well as inflammation and immune response.

So, an experience or activity occurs and the intensity of dopamine in the brain tells you how good it is and motivates you to get more of it. Meanwhile, throughout the rest of your body, dopamine is socializing and making deals with other molecules to keep things humming along.

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Anatomy of a Craving

Let's talk about desire and craving. McDonald's french fries, sex, a cold drink, or drugs - it all works the same in your brain. You don't get pleasure or a high from the substance, rather from the neurochemical response to it in your brain. When you crave something, a loop of neurotransmitters get triggered. It goes something like this: Dopamine says want it, glutamate remembers where it is, serotonin says you’ll feel better after, and norepinephrine yells GO GET IT NOW.

Credit: Laura L. Walsh, Psy.D.