How to Increase Motivation & Drive | Huberman Lab Podcast #12

Intermittent reinforcement schedule: the slot machine that gives you a win to keep you playing and maintains a constant chance of winning. If you are pursuing something and you want to continue the dopamine reward, remove rewards occasionally. Blunt the reward response for some of the intermediate results. The schedule should be unpredictable.

Prolactin: opposite of dopamine.

Dopamine finished each time you reach the goal.

Caffeine can increase dopamine release by 30% and might have a protective effect on dopamine neurons.

PEA releases seratonin and dopamine at low levels. People report heightened mental acuity, wellbeing but vary widely.

Watching intense light between 10 and 4 at Night reduces the capacity to produce dopamine.

Reward prediction error = dopamine released - expected

The RAPHE releases seratonin in different places in the brain. It biases us to stay in the heat and now and think about what we have. Dopamine makes us think about thinks we don’t have. Dopamine and seratonin should be in balance.

The number one determinant of dopamine release is novelty.