self care

DOPAMINE & MOTIVATION • - These days we hear a lot about dopamine and dopamine “hits”. The implication is that dopamine is about pleasure. But it is not. Dopamine is one of the so called catecholamines: dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine; these work in parallel to drive motivation, focus and pursuit. (Each does other things as well). - This quote from Dr. Changan Ranganath, on a recent (excellent) episode of the @lexfridman podcast captures the role of dopamine exquisitely well. - Here are a couple of things to remember that can be helpful toward your own motivation, offsetting procrastination, and sense of reward: 1) Dopamine is released and motivates us when we are seeking something we want. It can be useful to learn to recognize that feeling at a subjective level and understand that the agitation associated with it is perfectly normal and reflects the catecholamines working in parallel. - 2) Our level of motivation is proportional to the difference between the expected reward and what we actually get/got. Put differently, if we receive the same consistent levels of reward for something our motivation goes down. A surprisingly larger reward will increase motivation, but a surprisingly lesser reward increases it even more because it increases our desire to make up the gap. Turning disappointment into further motivation can be beneficial and it’s exactly how the system is organized to work. - Learning to associate reward with the effort process itself is the essence of growth mindset, and the Holy Grail of goal directed pursuits. This is possible because the dopamine system is subject to contextual learning. Meaning we can learn to attach specific cognitive processes to the neural circuits related to reward and pursuit. - I did a Huberman Lab podcast on dopamine, motivation, and reward. You can find it by going to hubermanlab.com and putting “dopamine” into the search bar. I also recommend you check out the most recent episode of the Lex Fridman podcast on memory w/Dr Ranganath. - Thank you for your interest in science! - @stanford.med @stanford - #neuroscience #science #ciencia #neurociencia #dopamine #motivation