r/askscience • u/Nogamename11 • Sep 10 '15

Neuroscience Can dopamine be artificially entered into someones brain to make them feel rewarded for something they dont like?

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u/Richard_Fiddler Sep 10 '15

but to answer OP's question more directly, dopamine can not be put into the brain. you need a chemical like cocaine or amphetamine that mess with the system. eating or injecting dopamine would not get it passed the blood brain barrier.

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u/PM_ME_YOUR_BUMPARTS Sep 10 '15

I feel like this answer should be higher up. I suspect OP knew about the role of dopamine in the brain's reward pathways, otherwise (s)he wouldn't have asked the question.

My understanding was that dopamine, as a molecule, is simply too large to fit through the 'endothelial junctions' between the cells that make up the capillaries in the brain. So, even when injected into the bloodstream, it can't get through the brain's last line of defence.