– ADHD brains are said to be constantly searching for dopamine – aren’t all brains craving dopamine? What’s the difference?
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All brains crave dopamine, but ADHD brains have a harder time producing and using it. This dopamine dysfunction can show up in a number of different areas, including
* not enough receptors in the brain (dulling the reward cycle and overall mood)
* not enough production (if there aren’t enough receptors, the body will produce less to match up with the pipeline)
* dopamine is produced well, but absorbed or taken away too quickly (dulling its effects again – neurotransmitters work best when they’re hanging out in synapses, the gaps between nerve cells)
Many of ADHD’s symptoms are either a direct result of low dopamine (restlessness, volatile moods, difficulty focusing…) or a compensating behavior to try and generate it (risky behaviors, drug abuse, physical activity…)
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Basically, ADHD brains have trouble taking up dopamine. This means that is very difficult and sometimes impossible for people to derive pleasure from their activities. Without that, the motivation to stay on task and do something just doesn’t exist, hence the lack of attention and inability to concentrate. Doing simple tasks like putting away your clothes can seem like climbing a mountain because every activity becomes “work”, even if it’s a small thing.
Less ELI5, but might be interesting:
Neurotransmitters don’t have a single function. There are things called neural pathways, and each neurotransmitter does different things in each pathway. The most notable pathway to be affected by ADHD is the reward pathway. It goes through lots of parts of the brain, including memory, capacity to make decisions, capacity to plan.
This pathway makes sure that if we do something good,we feel pleasure. That pleasure is then stored with the memory of the action, associated. When we try to make a decision, our brain brings back memories of things that brought us pleasure, meaning we remember things that worked, and prepares (primes) us to feel that satisfaction again.
When you have ADHD, your brain doesn’t keep enough dopamine floating in that particular pathway, which means you don’t feel satisfaction when doing things that would normally be rewarding. That lack of satisfaction is stored, marking the memory as unimportant. When you try to plan for something, you don’t have experiences to draw on at first.
That is why ADHD causes executive disfunction, in the form of memory issues and complications with decision making.
And, of course it means that while you are doing something, your brain doesn’t show you that it is an worthwhile action. That means you have to fight to stay focused, as your body tells you shouldn’t. And when you do hit on a loop of reward, your brain goes “THIS MATTERS! DON’T STOP!”. and breaking free to pay attention to something else becomes almost impossible.
ADHD is really interesting! If a big pain in the ass to have.
Edit: *Please* keep in mind that I’m *not a doctor*. I’m taking some classes on the topic for an *education* minor, nothing to do with mental health. I’m also Autistic, so my own experience might be different from yours. Do not take my word for gospel, but only as a way to guide your own research in the future, and a way to ask good questions from your doctor.
If you want a good *entry level* overview on ADHD, Dr Tracey Marks has some good information on her Youtube channel on the topic. **entry level** being the important part.
Be well friends!
All brains crave dopamine, but normal brains *get* a baseline level of dopamine just by existing. ADHD brains don’t. So people with ADHD have to engage in activities or behaviors that give them dopamine just to feel “OK” or content. On the flip side, when normal brains have to do tasks that are annoying, boring, unpleasant, or just not intrisincally stimulating, they have that baseline level of dopamine that they can “spend” like a budget to focus, plan, or remember things. This is how they can “push through” and do the task anyway. These faculties (focusing, planning, remembering) are collectively referred to as your “executive function” and are all parts of what people with ADHD struggle with. ADHD brains don’t have that same “budget” to spend and either struggle to muster their executive function at all or struggle to maintain it for very long.
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The main difference is that people without ADHD have a “normal” baseline level of dopamine. With ADHD, there’s basically no dopamine to begin with. That means that instead of prioritizing what’s important, ADHD makes it so people are more likely to go entirely for what gives dopamine the fastest
Dehydration. Everyone needs water, living with ADHD is like being constantly thirsty. When I take my ADHD meds I don’t feel like I’m suffering when doing something I don’t find interesting. I’m not constantly forcing myself to push on like a dehydrated person in the desert when there’s an oasis RIGHT THERE off the side of the trail.
This is why ADHD folks just cannot get things done before deadlines often, the adrenaline forces you to run on even if your muscles are exhausted. Like the fortnite ring closing in. 😉
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