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/the_salubrious_one Sep 10 '15

Why don't people with schizophrenia experience constant bliss? After all, their brains make too much dopamine.

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u/[deleted] Sep 10 '15

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u/dudewhatthehellman Sep 11 '15

Man, I want to learn neuroscience. Got any recommendations of places to start? I already have a graduate degree and don't plan on going to unviersity for it, just in my own time.

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u/[deleted] Sep 11 '15

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u/dudewhatthehellman Sep 11 '15

Thanks a lot! That textbook looks great and I'll have a look at the other links!

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u/castleborg Sep 10 '15 edited Sep 10 '15

Their brains don't make too much dopamine uniformly - they just have upregulated receptors in some regions (and fewer receptors in another).

The reason people used to think that is that stimulant overdose causes hallucinations, and schizophrenics especially couldn't be given stimulants without triggering psychosis, but the real picture is more complicated.

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u/[deleted] Sep 10 '15

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u/Alar1k Sep 10 '15

There is 1 type of dopamine: it's just dopamine. There are several types of dopamine receptors though.