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I have a simple question. How do I control dopamine in "my" brain so that I can focus on "here and now" instead of HN and GitHub.
Strengthen your prefrontal cortex so "you" have more control over your urges. You typically do this with meditation.
This line in the article is horrifying : > The researchers were surprised that when they activated VTA dopaminergic inputs into the aBLA they could reinstate fear even without any new foot shocks, impairing fear extinction. That... seems like the first step in being able to literally induce fear without having to bother with pesky things like finding the subject's triggers. Although I suppose if one has direct access…
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OK, maybe not "just a precursor" but still "just a neurotransmitter". I've read "The Molecule of More" and as much reasonably looking material I could find on the subject to "understand" my ADHD and fight it w/o meds. And I still feel dumb. Could you please explain how dopamine "participates directly in this functionality"?
FTA: “The team showed that indeed they express “D1” receptors for the neuromodulator. Commensurate with the degree of dopamine connectivity“ There are receptors specifically for dopamine on the amygdala neurons. Dopamine molecules are released by the pre-synaptic neurons, travel across the synapse, and bind to these receptors. Dopamine’s role in the nervous system is not simply an intermediate on the pathway to produ…
When you see headlines (or hear podcasters) talk about dopamine and other neurotransmitters, remember that neurotransmitters are merely signaling molecules. The correct way to interpret this study is that dopamine is part of the signaling chain involved in fear extinction. The specific details of where, how, and when that dopamine moves through the brain are important. The wrong way to interpret these studies is to t…
I wonder what even the point is.
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Neurotransmitters are just "global variables" to the GPU. What the variable does or means is trained. Probably trained in the context of "I/O" signals. E.g. if the chemical also speeds up heart rate or breathing then that becomes part of the training data set. So Dopamine can potentially "do" different things in different examples of the same animal, if environmental training data is sufficiently different.
> Neurotransmitters are just "global variables" to the GPU. No, neurotransmitters are very local. Dopamine exists all throughout your body, including your bloodstream. The dopamine in one location is uncoupled from the dopamine in another location. The dopamine in your bloodstream can't get into your brain. Dopamine within the brain doesn't spill over into entirely different regions of the brain.
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Strengthen your prefrontal cortex so "you" have more control over your urges. You typically do this with meditation.
Any special kind of meditation that is recommended?
I have a simple question. How do I control dopamine in "my" brain so that I can focus on "here and now" instead of HN and GitHub.
Get away from screens. It's hard to focus on the here and now when the here and now is the soul-deadening sensory-less experience of sitting motionless staring at a flat rectangle of pixels. Go out in the woods. Get your hands dirty. Meet friends at a bar and laugh until your stomach hurts. It's so much easier to be present in the moment when the moment is actually high fidelity and nourishing.
Outside, right now, people stay on screens all the time. It's the same stuff. Why even bother?
Humans plan ahead. We look towards the future and the past. Not all the time, but a lot of the time.
This carpe diem stuff doesn't seem like the right way to approach the problem given our current technological society.
Also, I'm not gonna party just because someone told me to.
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1. Cold plunge - high but transient (last for hours). I do it in the morning, after my shower - start the day off right. 2. Exercise - short-term: increases dopamine, serotonin, and a bunch of other good stuff; long-term: increases dopamine receptor density. 3. Caffeine - while doesn't technically increase dopamine, it blocks adenosine receptors which indirectly increases dopamine signalling. But habitual use blunts…
I have found l-tyrosine also being quite helpful when taken occasionally.
One other “light” supplement that can dampen addictive behaviors or cravings is l-theanine.
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I would unironically say this is the how of how adderall works for me. I am distracted from work by anxiety. With medication, I'm not distracted.
Indeed, I was surprised both at the fact that it literally makes me feel better because the drug makes you feel good but also that it calmed my brain down and let me access some inner peace. But also the focus modification is big and I learned so many good habits that now I need much less of it to get stuff done. I wake up and start doing my chores before I even have my first dose!
I mean, there is a reason why it's a controlled substance and is heavily abused all across the world. It works and it works well.
Though, I've been on it for about a decade now, and I have lost a large majority of the benefits it once provided.