The reward circuitry of the brain has become a bit of a manosphere meme lately. Impassioned cries of pseudoscience and 'muh dopamine' may be an appropriate way to explain the general concept of reward processing to your mom when you haven't wacked your willy in 47 and a half days, but for the rest of us a utilitarian breakdown of the feedback mechanisms associated with reward and addiction can improve our habit-forming and breaking behaviors. Not understanding how motivation and arousal arises from your own mind is foolish if you want to become actualized, so buckle your brain up motherfuckers; it's time to dive into the world of dopamine.

Note: This is the second entry in our science discussion series here at TRP. This series strives to communicate the recent and important research on high-level concepts and facilitate manosphere discussion of issues and concepts that aren't typically addressed.

Rhino Horn, Human Horn, Bull Horn

Let's get this straightened out right off the bat- the fuck is dopamine? Is it magic fairy dust that compels you touch yourself? Is it similar, chemically speaking, to white rhino horn and- most importantly- can I snort it?

Dopamine is a very simple type of molecule known as a phenethylamine. Despite its structural simplicity, however, this neurotransmitter's versatility is staggering. There are, in fact, 4 major dopaminergic pathways in the brain which regulate learning, movement, hormonal regulation, as well as reward [1]. These pathways modulate macro-scale patterns of neuronal activity and act as a sort of amplification circuit for incoming stimulus [2]. You can think of it like the moving walkways at the airport. Unless you're a filthy troglodyte you don't just stand on the belt and wait, you walk with it and it amplifies your movement. This is a very important point, because this essentially means that your state is amplified by the introduction of arousing stimulus. This amplification is deeply related to learning and likely also habit forming, although the specifics aren't quite clear yet. Anyway, this is where things get a little tricky, so pop another adderall and read on.

Dopamine Regulates Personality Traits and Psychological States

Now if you ever have taken adderall you'll likely be familiar with the fact that its effects range far beyond increased focus (see Levens and Akins, 2001 where they inject birds with cocaine and amphetamine). While the mechanism of action for dextroamphetamine is still unclear, it's extremely likely that it acts to increase the amount of dopamine available in the brain. It shouldn't be surprising, then, that an increase of dopamine is related to not only your mental state (seeking comfort, feeling urges), but also to multiple personality traits- notably increasing extraversion, impulsivity, and novelty seeking (see Bardo, et al., 1996; Depue & Collins, 1999; Cardinal et al., 2004).

This point- the fact that one neurotransmitter is effectively causing macro-scale phenomenon like modulation of big 5 personality traits (extraversion, neuroticism, openness, conscientiousness, & agreeableness) - should intrigue all of you. By understanding the systems that give rise to personality, we gain the insight necessary to manipulate those systems to become more effective.

Ultimately, the most effective way to think about dopamine is to consider its' psychological role, which seems to be to promote psychic arousal in response to severely positive or negative stimulus, and to modulate every other signal through that stimulus.

2 Terms, 2 Genders, 2 Important Dopaminergic Pathways

Biologically speaking, the dopaminergic pathways are actually bundles of specialized neurons with very long connections (one dopamine neuron can have upwards of 500,000 connections with other neurons!). As their structure implies, they reach out like interconnected tendrils spanning vast portions of the brain. For our purposes, the most relevant of these neurons are the mesencephalic neuron bundles known as A8, A9, and A10, that primarily interface the forebrain with the substantia nigra (SN) and ventral tegmental area (VTA). Respectively, these systems are known as the Nigrostriatal and Mesocorticolimbic pathways.

1. The Mesocorticolimbic Projection

This structure is made up of 2 substructures, because its biology and of course it has to be more complicated. The child structures are the mesolimbic and mesocortical pathways, where the prefix meso- refers to the middle of the brain and the suffix '-limbic' to 'making you want to eat churros frequently'.

The mesolimbic system is the bread and butter 'reward' pathway that plays the lead role in literally every motivation you feel from wanting to have sex to that one new years eve when you were sitting at home alone and suddenly decided you would start lifting the next day but then didn't. Yeah, it's the motivation one. I typically think about this system as being part of your unconscious; It's you, but on a much lower level that works only to satisfy cravings. Hopefully this provides some context as to why motivation is such a fickle and ephemeral state, and why you shouldn't rely on it.

Now, if this guy goes fucky on you you'll likely end up with some combination of depression, OCD, Parkinson's, HIV (just kidding you got that from your boyfriend), and if you're really unlucky restless leg syndrome. As you may have guessed, dysregulation of the mesolimbic system is implicated in pretty much every psychological disorder.

The corticolimbic system, however, is a little less primitive loincloth and a little more business casual. It transports dopamine from the VTA to the prefrontal cortex, which is where executive function arises. Executive function is any kind of abstract thinking, like planning future events or conspiring to plagiarize a wikipedia article on the dopaminergic pathways. The corticolimbic neurons are associated with intentional action [2], and if I had a thicker bundle of these this post would have been out 2 weeks ago.

2. The Nigrostriatal Pathway

This is the other dopamine pathway worth mentioning (there's actually 4 in total). This pathway hooks up the seductively named basal ganglia with the midbrain which itself is part of a more complex circuit known as the basal ganglia motor loop. Essentially this pathway functions to both allow you to move and to keep you from acting out unwanted movements (where dysregulation of this region results in Parkinson's), and it does this by talking mad shit to the thymus and also throwing some inhibitory neurotransmitters like GABA at it.

Nucleus Acumbens? I already did.

"Well if these are the reward systems, then is there an easier way to abuse them than autoerotic asphyxiation?" I hear you asking, or rather, gasping. As mentioned earlier, yes, and that's the entire point of this essay!

The dopaminergic reward pathways are inherently signal amplification pathways, and that could be their most significant attribute because it means that the signals do not originate locally. By changing the nature of the psychological signaling in our mind, that is to say by reframing the situation in a positive light, we can make sure that arousing or triggering stimulus amplifies the good and not the negative.

As an example lets say that you ask out that cutie with the boots with the fur and you get viciously rejected, just absolutely non-consensually pegged but like, just as a friend, and now you have to carry around a mattress everywhere you go so people pay attention to you and acknowledge the victim status of your war-torn brown eye. Well, one person might frame that in a positive light, knowing that although his mattress will get dirty and his asshole stretched, he will be stronger in the end because of it. When that person becomes aroused by the soft satin touch of his mattress, the arising positive emotions will be that much more intense and significant when compared to someone who framed the rejection in a negative way.

Also you could just take adderall but I'm not going to recommend that because these systems are actually pretty sensitive to chemical intervention, and will basically become dysregulated after prolonged use. As mentioned earlier dysregulation of these circuits is not too pleasurable, unless you count giving yourself the ol' Michael J. Fox handy with your newly acquired Parkinson's.

TL;DR

1. The way you frame every interaction WILL be amplified both by your own mind and by behaviors that evoke a self-fulfilling prophecy.

2. Dopamine plays versatile roles including regulating both your traits and your personality. Reframe situations to manifest changes in your own personality.

Epilogue

As always, thanks for reading; questions and comments are encouraged below. Next time we cover big 5 personality traits and their associations.
-ISC

Here's some things to consider:

  1. How can the amplifying effects of external stimulus be used to our advantage?
  2. When trying to change ourselves, should we be employing positive or negative feedback?
  3. Humans become addicted to emotional states. Can we exploit this? How?

Sources

  1. Ikemoto S (2010). "Brain reward circuitry beyond the mesolimbic dopamine system: a neurobiological theory". Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 35 (2): 129–50.
  2. Alcaro, A., et al. (2007). Behavioral functions of the mesolimbic dopaminergic system: An affective neuroethological perspective. Brain Research Reviews 56: 283-321