I know what the 5 most common ones (acetylcholine, dopamine, endorphins, serotonin and norepinephrine) are for but I’ve noticed they also have similar functions. Like endorphins and dopamine both have to do with wellbeing and pain, and acetylcholine and dopamine both have to do with memory and learning. But in what situations does one activate and the other doesn’t? When is serotonin released and not dopamine or endorphins? I know norepinephrine is supposed to contribute to awakeness, awareness and apetite but how? Etc.
In: Biology
Specific neurotransmitters are linked to specific neurons in the brain that perform specific functions. Dopamine doesn’t inherently make us happy (in fact dopamine also is used a lot for movement), it’s just used by the parts of the brain responsible for reward.
Without going into specific regions, neurotransmitters are used when they’re corresponding neurons fire. If something is affecting appetite, then it’s bring released in the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that maintains homeostasis. This is what allows neurotransmitters to fill multiple roles and what allows multiple ones to do the same thing. It all depends on what specific neurons firing use.
Most of these are to alleviate cortisol (bad feeling) and are basically little “motivators” in your head to help you survive. Cortisol is boredom, fear, anxiety, etc. It basically goes “Hey, I don’t like this, let’s stop this from happening by doing anything that will get my helpers out”. So if you feel shitty at work you might eat something bad for you or seek out friends because they stop the cortisol (bad feeling) and replace it temporarily with a neurotransmitter of good feeling. I can’t speak of norepinephrine or acetylcholine but for the following the gist is:
Endorphins are released to help alleviate (physical) pain to get you to safety. When you’re working out chances are you’re not getting endorphins but just getting a lot of oxygen in your blood. Endorphins come from overly ripped muscles, or anything physically painful as a way to keep you alive until you get to safety.
Dopamine is your “chase” motivator. You get dopamine anytime you’re chasing a new level or goal. Games are typically leveraging dopamine. Dopamine actually increases as you get closer to the goal and surges when you get the goal itself. You’ll feel this a lot when pursuing levels or XP in a game or get close to earning a raise at work. The reason dopamine helps with learning is because it helps solidify the memory of a “win”. In survival if you can replicate those wins in the future you will be more likely to survive. If you forgot everything you would be hard pressed to learn everything again and again in future expeditions. Fun fact: Surprise also activates dopamine. You’re more likely to memorize an event if you’re surprised by it because your brain does not want to be surprised for survival reasons. This is actually the core premise of gambling, gatcha mechanics, or red notifications in social media. It’s a variable reward system.
Serotonin is your social/safety motivator. It motivates you to gain rank or hierarchy in your job, in the game, or at home against siblings. Serotonin is the feeling of safety (within social context). (Ex) You get serotonin if you look at a good bank account in a recession, because you know you are safer than others. Or you get serotonin when you think about your higher rank in the company because if there is trouble, those below you are more likely to be affected than yourself. The absence of serotonin is also the reason why you feel FOMO. The idea of missing out means your not part of the group and don’t feel the safety of numbers. You might feel dopamine to get you into a group event on FB so you don’t miss out but what you’re actually chasing is the serotonin of being part of a group. (Note if you don’t feel like you belong you will feel the opposite, but if you’re popular you’ll feel even more serotonin because of more belonging and status).
Latest Answers