Posted by pseudoname on June 26, 2006, at 11:20:52
An interesting quote about dopamine, from the New York Times Magazine:
Dopamine was originally thought to serve as a kind of pleasure signal in the brain, telling us when something feels good or rewarding. But scientists now believe that dopamine is more a predictor of salience — that is, it tells us, and then helps us to remember, what we should focus on. When you see a person you are strongly attracted to, scientists can now see a spike of dopamine in your brain. If you are hungry and smell a food you like, dopamine also increases. But even unpleasant experiences — like physical pain or the fear of an intruder in the house — can cause a dopamine spike. (Some hypothesize that different dopamine receptor cells are responsible for firing during rewarding or aversive situations.)
(The article is about addiction; free for 6 days at: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/25/magazine/25addiction.html?pagewanted=print)
poster:pseudoname
thread:661583
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060623/msgs/661583.html