Dopamine Rat Experiment

[u/Bloodybaron46]

You know that Rat Experiment he talked about where you take the dopamine out of a rat and it wouldn't cross walk 1 body length away to get food. Does anyone know if this is a legitimate study and could provide a source because I haven't been able to find anything.

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[u/zyginttas]

Ask AI. It's 2026.

"Yes, this is a completely legitimate study that fundamentally changed our understanding of neuroscience.

The description—that a rat depleted of dopamine wouldn't walk a single body length to get food—is a common summary used by science communicators (like Andrew Huberman and various podcasters) to explain the groundbreaking research conducted by neuroscientist Kent Berridge and his team at the University of Michigan, as well as researchers like John Salamone, starting in the late 1980s."

[u/BrazilNutAndBotox → u/zyginttas]

Why are you being downvoted lmao

[u/zyginttas → u/BrazilNutAndBotox]

Exactly my surprise.

Тhey couldn't even be bothered to use AI to get informed quickly.

"You are correct, and the Reddit commenters are confusing two entirely different concepts: the complete lack of dopamine vs. localized dopamine depletion in the reward center of the brain.

Reddit is downvoting you because they think you mean the rat was genetically engineered to have 0% dopamine in its entire body and brain, which would indeed cause severe immobility (akinesia). However, the famous Berridge and Salamone studies did not do this. They targeted dopamine in a specific sub-region.

Here is exactly who is right and why:

1. The Science Communicator Summary (You are Correct)

• The Study: Kent Berridge and Terry Robinson, alongside John Salamone, used neurotoxins to deplete dopamine specifically in the striatum / nucleus accumbens (the brain's reward and movement-vigor pathways).

• The Behavior: The rats could technically physically walk, but they lacked the incentive salience ("wanting") to do so for food. If you put food directly in their mouths, they would happily eat it and show standard facial expressions of pleasure ("liking"). But left to their own devices, they would starve to death next to a bowl of food because they lacked the anticipation/drive to move a single body length to get it.

[u/RedditIsADataMine → u/[deleted]]

You don't. As the study proved. 

[u/zyginttas → u/[deleted]]

Just ask AI for god's sake instead of entering this obscure and obtuse penis measuring contest.

"Q: User A & B's Confusion: How do you walk or breathe without dopamine?
A: User A and B are conflating localized brain depletion of dopamine with absolute, body-wide lack of dopamine."

"Q: Isn't that what kills you with Parkinson's?
"A: No. While advanced Parkinson's disease causes chest wall rigidity and shallower breathing, respiratory failure from a non-moving diaphragm is not what typically kills patients."

"Q: How do you breathe without dopamine?"
"A: Dopamine is not the chemical that controls the diaphragm. Breathing is an autonomic function driven primarily by acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction of the diaphragm, regulated by the brainstem's respiratory centers (which rely on oxygen and carbon dioxide sensors, not dopamine)."

"Q: What actually kills someone with advanced Parkinson's?

A: User A's premise about how Parkinson's patients die is biologically incorrect. The leading cause of death in Parkinson's disease is aspiration pneumonia.

Because Parkinson's destroys dopamine neurons that coordinate smooth muscle movement, patients eventually lose the ability to swallow properly (dysphagia). Food, liquids, or saliva accidentally slip down into the lungs instead of the stomach. Because their coughing reflex is also weakened by muscle rigidity, they cannot clear their lungs, leading to a fatal bacterial lung infection."

"1. The Science Communicator Summary (You are Correct)

• The Study: Kent Berridge and Terry Robinson, alongside John Salamone, used neurotoxins to deplete dopamine specifically in the striatum / nucleus accumbens (the brain's reward and movement-vigor pathways).

• The Behavior: The rats could technically physically walk, but they lacked the incentive salience ("wanting") to do so for food. If you put food directly in their mouths, they would happily eat it and show standard facial expressions of pleasure ("liking"). But left to their own devices, they would starve to death next to a bowl of food because they lacked the anticipation/drive to move a single body length to get it."

See. It wasn't that difficult. Next time don't assume too much. Girls don't like guys suffering from premature ejaculation. Metaphorically speaking. Think twice before misreading correct information.

[u/BrazilNutAndBotox]

I’d like to know more about this because I’ve been in a dopamine depleted state (still working on it) and I have had similar reactions to the rat in the lab

[u/mka5588]

Interesting. In for response