Eli5: When a dopamine agonist tricks the brain into thinking the molecules are actually dopamine, does the brain understand that it’s not dopamine and is like “that will work too I guess”?

Question

Eli5: When a dopamine agonist tricks the brain into thinking the molecules are actually dopamine, does the brain understand that it’s not dopamine and is like “that will work too I guess”?

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Chemistry, including neurochemistry, is, at a fundamental level, just keys opening locks. Either the key opens the lock or it doesn’t. 2 different keys that open the same lock have the same end result.

You’re also ascribing agency to your brain as a separate conscious entity separate from you in a way that it isn’t. Your brain *is* you. Yea, your brain does a lot of stuff automatically that you aren’t aware of and can’t control, but the concept of “understanding” is necessarily one of conscious though.