Pleasure is a different for everyone: Kayaking Alaska's Prince William Sound, Scratching off all the items on your to do list, binging on drugs and alcohol, engaging in romantic partnering. Pleasure takes all kinds both big, small, healthy or not.
Dopamine is one of the biggest reasons we feel pleasure when it comes to reward and to achieving goals, it is also the chemical that Methamphetamines and Cocaine hijack in order to give the highs you get.
But can a lack of dopamine cause depression? Can it be a factor in Attention Deficient Disorder?
And it's also suspected that a breakdown in the dopamine delivery system can cause Parkinson's disease.
Can a surplus of dopamine can be connected to schizophrenia?
Dopamine is certainly worth serious study - a professor is doing just that. Dr. Carlos Paladini associate professor of neuroscience at the University of Texas San Antonio was awarded a $1.8 million research grant for the pleasure chemical.
Guest:
- Dr. Carlos Paladini associate professor of neuroscience at the University of Texas San Antonio
