Is Too Much Dopamine Bad? Investigating the Effects of Excessive Pleasure Hormone on the Body

Dopamine has recently become famous for being the "feel good" neurotransmitter strongly associated with pleasure and reward. For some people, it serves as their motivational molecule, which helps them get going and accomplish what needs to be done.

Is Too Much Dopamine Bad? Investigating the Effects of Excessive Pleasure Hormone in the Body

(Photo: Unsplash/ Antonino Visalli)

What is Dopamine?

Dopamine is a chemical produced in many areas of the brain, such as the pituitary gland, substantia nigra, ventral tegmental area, and pathways of the hypothalamus. It acts as a chemical messenger that helps communicate signals between the nerve cells in the brain and the rest of the body.

This neurotransmitter plays a vital role in the human body. It involves a person's sleep and arousal, behavior and cognition, memory, learning, lactation, attention, and mood. It also helps the blood vessels to relax and protects the gastrointestinal lining by slowing the movement of its content.

Dopamine has become more famous for allowing a person to feel pleasure, satisfaction, and motivation. It is part of the reward system, which, from an evolutionary standpoint, is designed to reward a person after doing what they need to survive.

This chemical also plays a minor role in the "fight-or-flight" syndrome, which refers to the body's response to a stressful situation. When a person perceives a threat or imagined threat, the sympathetic nervous system gets activated and triggers the release of dopamine and other catecholamines to help respond to stress.

Effects of Too Much Dopamine

The high amount of dopamine is good for a person's body and brain. However, having too little or too much dose of this neurotransmitter can cause many problems.

High dopamine levels can cause a person to experience positive feelings, such as having a surge of energy, euphoria, and a high sex drive. On the other hand, there are negative effects of high levels of dopamine, such as trouble sleeping, poor impulse control, and being more aggressive. Some people may also experience being uncooperative and less empathetic.

While dopamine can help properly function the digestive system, it can also cause constipation in some people when present in high amounts. In a study led by Gennaro Pagano, it was reported that dopaminergic medications in Parkinson's disease increase the risk for constipation. Dopamine has been shown to alter the requirements and storage of vitamin B6. This means that excessive amounts of this neurotransmitter can cause vitamin B6 deficiency in some individuals.

There are also serious mental disorders associated with having excessive amounts of dopamine. These include paranoia, psychosis, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and the maniac phase of bipolar disorder. Moreover, high dopamine levels can push a person's libido into hyperdrive and make them prone to addictions of various kinds.

The brain can be flooded with unnaturally high dopamine levels and potentially addictive substances. These include alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, sugar, and stimulant drugs. Excessive dopamine in the brain can also be caused by addictive behaviors such as gambling, video games, shopping, cell phone use, watching porn, and playing video games. Pursuit of power and engaging in thrill-seeking activities also add to the list.