Huh, dopamine isn't actually a cause of pleasure, just a response to it that builds habit

taiga

Having extra dopamine or no dopamine doesn't enhance or inhibit the experience of pleasure

Now I'm wondering, could dopamine be an addictive drug despite the fact that it wouldn't provide pleasure?

Just skip the pleasure part and go straight to habit

I thought the point of drugs was to cause a dopamine response

That's interesting

It is

This is actually really cool

So dopamine on its own isn't what does it?

I mean, dopamine is linked to pleasure responses, which is where that hypothesis came from but it looks like they managed to remove it from animals and they still showed signs of pleasure, but didn't form associated habits like normal animals would

so dopamine is part of habit formation but not a singular cause of pleasure

And its linked to a bunch of other things because the brain is super fuckin complicated and no hormone does just one thing

Like paranoia

And ptsd

Yeah, I think the dopamine response to drugs is something that follows the pleasure, not something that causes it

oxytocin is really interesting to me as well

wonder if that's something that could be artificially supplemented

would it be the same if one could?

I bet someone somewhere has jacked mice full of it to see what happens

I bet someone somewhere has jacked mice full of it to see what happens

🤔

A drug that directly produces the feeling of being physically comforted by someone would be hugely sought after

By... weebs, and/or therapists, and cat ladies

'The Hug Drug'

https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/268/584/189.gif

https://1eu.funnyjunk.com/hdgifs/Democrats+and+guns+rightclick+unmute+for+sound_c2842a_7544142.mp4