What is dopamine What does dopamine mean

Dopamine (DA, or 3-hydroxytyramine-dihydroxyamphetamine) is an endogenous nitrogenous organic compound that is an intermediate product produced by dihydroxyphenylalanine during the metabolism of tyrosine (aromatic amino acid).

Although dopamine has been synthesized as early as 1910, it has long been neglected due to its relatively weak sympathomimetic activity compared to its closely related biological catecholamines. It was not until -dopa decarboxylase was found in animal tissues that dopamine was observed as a component of normal human urine.

Efficacy

Dopamine has receptor agonism, also has a certain receptor agonist effect, can enhance myocardial contractility, increase cardiac output, accelerate the heart rate effect is slight, has a slight contractile effect on peripheral blood vessels, increase arterial pressure, and expand internal blood vessels, increase blood flow.

At the same time, the renal blood flow and glomerular filtration rate are increased, thereby promoting the increase of urine output and sodium excretion, which can improve peripheral circulation, significantly increase urine output, and have no significant effect on heart rate, which is superior to other vasoconstrictors or vasodilators, and can be mainly used for various types of shock clinically.

According to Wikipedia, dopamine is a brain secretion, a neurotransmitter that can affect a person's mood. Simply put, it controls your desires.

So how does it work? In fact, starting with human evolution, our brains reward us with anything that can help us survive by secreting dopamine. This is why we feel very happy when we eat xxoo and meat, because the brain thinks that xxoo is equivalent to the reproduction of the species, and eating meat is equivalent to obtaining sustained survival energy.

As a simple example, when you're standing in front of the fridge and looking at a carrot and a piece of chocolate, your brain will make you inclined to choose that food that secretes more dopamine, so you'll choose chocolate because your brain thinks chocolate will make you more happy. You might say that it's okay to eat a piece of chocolate every now and then, and that's true. But when your brain secretes a lot of dopamine over and over again because of this choice, your brain creates a desperate need for chocolate and becomes addicted.

That's why people tend to be obese, drink heavily, gamble, and so on. The problem is that dopamine doesn't know what's good for us and what's bad for us. It doesn't know that eating chocolate in excess can make us unhealthy , it just knows that it's something that will make people feel good.

That's why those addicts would rather have their lives shattered than get that dopamine reward again and again.