How Can a Dopamine Burst Impact Our Brain: Understanding the Science of Motivation
Motivation is one of the most discussed topics. While it is criticized for not having a sustainable mechanism and having a structure with ups and downs; It is an important element that changes our perspective under its influence and enables us to progress in many matters.
Therefore, in addition to finding the motivation needed, staying motivated also becomes a big problem.
We must admit that we need motivation to do any job. The main source of procrastination, one of the most common daily life problems of today, comes from lack of motivation.
We have seen many examples of people with a certain motivation moving forward relentlessly. So how do these people's brains work? How does motivation affect the brain? How can we create dopamine bursts in our brains? Let's take a closer look.
The Origin Story of Motivation
To find the source of motivation, we must know that neurotransmitters are an important concept. Neurotransmitters create chemical messages to keep us alert and on task, and these chemical messages are carried to our brain. Then our whole body begins to feel this effect.
The neurotransmitter that plays a leading role in the science of motivation is dopamine. Dopamine passes from one neuron to another as a chemical signal and interacts with various receptors in the synapse between these two neurons.
The way dopamine is received is a determining factor in motivation. Dopamine can come from many pathways: Mesolimbic pathway, mesocortical pathway, nigrostriatal pathway, tuberoinfundibular pathway. However, the most important dopamine pathway for the reward center is the mesolimbic pathway.
In the mesolimbic pathway, neurons go to different areas of the limbic system (the system of our brain responsible for emotional processes) and play a major role in emotional behavior. These behaviors range from biologically programmed, such as quenching hunger or thirst, to purely social and learned.
The reward center of the limbic system is called nucleus accumbens. In this area, emotions such as reward, pleasure, addiction, hope, determination and revenge are concentrated.
For example, when you achieve something you have wanted to achieve for a long time, a signal explosion occurs in this area of your brain and you feel pleasure from it.
This is the main source of motivation. So how can we use this information?
What is Dopamine Burst?
Dopamine encourages you to do your job to get rewarded.
Many people think of dopamine as just a neurotransmitter for pleasure. However, when researchers examined this issue, they encountered an interesting phenomenon.
Dopamine bursts can also occur during times of high stress. It's like soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder releasing dopamine when they hear gunshots.
A study conducted at Vanderbilt University examined the brains of people described as “lazy” and “hard-working”. They found that people with a high internal drive to work had higher levels of dopamine in the striatum and prefrontal cortex (two areas also known to influence motivation and feelings of reward).
The so-called lazy group also had dopamine in the anterior insula, a region that plays a role in emotion and risk perception.
That's why it's extremely important which way dopamine comes from.
UConn researcher John Salamone says this about dopamine levels:
“Low dopamine levels make humans and other animals less likely to work. Apart from pleasures, dopamine also has to do with motivation and cost/benefit analysis.”
How Can We Use Dopamine Release Principles for Productivity in Professional and Daily Life?
We learned that motivation is experienced through the dopamine rush created by the expectation that something important will happen. So how can we make this useful in daily life?
A standard way to achieve rewarding experiences is to set incremental goals. Dopamine will increase as a result of positive reinforcement after completing a step and tackling a subsequent challenge.
Some elements that will increase your dopamine flow:
• Record your small achievements: A to-do list shows how you achieved your goals and strengthens your belief in this regard. As you make progress, you will feel more of the effects of dopamine.
• Share your success with your team and environment: Talking about the results (whether positive or negative) provides an opportunity for positive feedback. Appreciating the work of people around you also increases your dopamine levels.
• Stay on task thanks to micro deadlines: Put all your focus on one topic at a time. Sit down and finish what you need to do. Leaving things unfinished always reduces your productivity. However, the pleasure of finishing your work in one sitting is completely different.
• Focus on the feeling of finishing: Focus on the feeling of accomplishment you feel in parallel with the items above. This system, which professors from Michigan call results-oriented focus, will create reasons for you to stay motivated.
✍️ Editor's Note and Final Thoughts
We should not forget that the concept of dopamine is very important in motivation. However, one of the important points here is how you provide yourself with dopamine.
After understanding the working principles of dopamine secretion pathways, you can determine your own motivation elements more clearly and use them to increase your productivity accordingly.