This article is about a scientist,
John Salamone, who, through his research, thinks that dopamine is not
responsible for pleasure, but has more to do with motivation. He uses the
example that depressed people, while they can have fun with their friends, do
not go out with their friends as much. He thinks this is because the reduced
dopamine that is characteristic of depression causes them to not be as
motivated. This also comes into play when there is an easy task with a small
reward, and a larger task with a bigger reward.
Although they seem like they might be different, I think that the pleasure and motivation hypotheses are fairly
similar. I do not think this goes against other research that has been done
involving dopamine, I think it just provides an easier to understand
explanation of how dopamine acts in the brain. Hopefully thinking about
dopamine in this new way will allow dopamine related diseases to have more
treatment success. For example, if a person with depression can understand that
it is more of a motivation issue than lack of pleasure issue, they might think
things like “I really don’t want to go out right now, but I know that once I do
I will have a fun time” rather than “I don’t know why I would want to go out, I
have a disease where it is more difficult to experience pleasure, so I won’t
have fun.”
What
kinds of other implications do you think this study will have on mental
disorders (and even movement disorders) related to dopamine imbalances?
I agree with you on thinking that the motivation and pleasure hypotheses are similar. I believe that these two feelings in the human body are highly correlated. For example to have a good time and feel happiness/pleasure, you need to be motivated to do things such as get off the couch, or leave your house. If dopamine is strictly related to motivation as this scientist claims, then I feel like people with depression will not be easily categorized. For example, one person may not leave their room and always be lazy, while another may always go out to places but stay away from other people. It's hard to determine if either of these people are depressed due to their dopamine levels.
ReplyDeleteIf this study proves to be reliable, hopefully it will be easier on scientists to help diagnose patients regarding dopamine imbalances. Although I am sure dopamine effects more factors than just motivation, knowing the motivation patterns of the patient can help them determine how to apply their solutions. That should be the future of this study, what other relevant feelings/abilities does dopamine effect?