#ADHD #brainchemistry #dopaminecraving #neurotransmitters
What Makes ADHD Brains Crave Dopamine?
If you’ve ever wondered about the difference between ADHD brains constantly craving dopamine and the natural dopamine cravings of all brains, you’ve come to the right place. It’s not uncommon for people to have questions about the intricate workings of the brain, especially when it comes to conditions like ADHD. In this article, we will break down the science behind ADHD brains and their constant search for dopamine and compare it to the natural craving for dopamine in all brains.
Understanding Dopamine
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays a crucial role in various brain functions, including movement, motivation, reward, and pleasure. It is often referred to as the “feel-good” chemical because it is associated with feelings of pleasure and satisfaction. Dopamine is released in response to certain stimuli, such as food, sex, or other rewarding experiences. This release of dopamine reinforces behaviors and motivates us to seek out those experiences again.
ADHD and Dopamine
In individuals with ADHD, the brain’s dopamine regulation is disrupted, leading to a constant search for dopamine. This can result in symptoms such as impulsivity, inattention, and hyperactivity. The ADHD brain is thought to have lower levels of dopamine and fewer dopamine receptors, leading to a decreased ability to regulate dopamine levels. As a result, individuals with ADHD may engage in impulsive behaviors to seek out stimulating experiences that can increase dopamine levels in the brain.
Differences in Dopamine Craving
While it’s true that all brains crave dopamine to some extent, the difference lies in the way ADHD brains process and regulate dopamine. Here are some key differences between the constant search for dopamine in ADHD brains and the natural craving for dopamine in all brains:
1. Dysregulation of Dopamine: In ADHD brains, there is a dysregulation of dopamine levels, leading to a constant search for stimulation to increase dopamine. In contrast, in neurotypical brains, dopamine levels are regulated more efficiently, and the craving for dopamine is satisfied through everyday experiences and activities.
2. Impulsivity and Reward Sensitivity: Individuals with ADHD may exhibit higher levels of impulsivity and heightened sensitivity to rewards due to their brain’s constant search for dopamine. Conversely, in neurotypical individuals, the craving for dopamine is more balanced, and the response to rewards is regulated within a normal range.
3. Impact on Attention and Focus: The constant search for dopamine in ADHD brains can impact attention and focus, leading to difficulties in maintaining concentration on tasks. In contrast, in neurotypical individuals, the craving for dopamine does not interfere significantly with attention and focus.
Managing Dopamine Cravings in ADHD
Understanding the role of dopamine in ADHD can provide insights into effective management strategies. Here are some ways to address the constant search for dopamine in ADHD brains:
1. Medication: Stimulant medications, such as methylphenidate and amphetamine, are commonly prescribed to increase dopamine levels and improve dopamine regulation in ADHD brains.
2. Behavioral Therapy: Cognitive-behavioral therapy and other behavioral interventions can help individuals with ADHD develop coping strategies to manage their impulsivity and regulate their dopamine cravings.
3. Lifestyle Modifications: Engaging in regular exercise, maintaining a healthy diet, and practicing mindfulness can help stabilize dopamine levels and reduce the constant search for stimulation in ADHD brains.
In Conclusion
In summary, while all brains crave dopamine to some extent, the constant search for dopamine in ADHD brains is influenced by dysregulation of dopamine levels and can manifest in symptoms such as impulsivity and inattention. Understanding the differences in dopamine craving between ADHD and neurotypical brains can shed light on the unique challenges faced by individuals with ADHD and inform effective management strategies. By addressing the underlying dysregulation of dopamine, individuals with ADHD can achieve better control over their symptoms and improve their overall quality of life.
In conclusion, the constant search for dopamine in ADHD brains is a result of dysregulation of dopamine levels and can lead to symptoms such as impulsivity, inattention, and hyperactivity. While all brains crave dopamine to some extent, the differences lie in the way ADHD brains process and regulate dopamine, leading to unique challenges and management strategies for individuals with ADHD. By addressing the underlying dysregulation of dopamine, individuals with ADHD can achieve better control over their symptoms and improve their overall quality of life.
ADHD brains tend to have low dopamine and their systems don’t regulate dopamine in the same way others’ do. A person without ADHD have a more balanced dopamine level and it can exist for a longer time, affecting the person in a stronger way. ADHD people need a higher level to get to the normal baseline and need more of it to stay there and be affected in the same way.
Imagine dopamine as a plate of food. A normal person’s plate of food is full, it tastes good, and it fills them up. An ADHD person’s plate of food is only half-full, it doesn’t taste that good, and it leaves them still hungry.
The person with ADHD needs more food and different food to get the same experience as the normal person’s plate already provided.
Craving domaine is not really the way to think about it.
The thing to know about dopamine is it is something your brain makes BEFORE a reward. Eat a berry, it tastes sweet, your brain files away “berry = reward”. Now, next time you see a berry, dopamine fires off and you lock in on the goal “get that MF berry”.
The problem seems to be our dopamine doesn’t really seem to work right, the signal isn’t so strong. Its not entirely clear why, but doing things that make dopamine stick around longer seems to help.
Its less an inability to pay attention than an inability to lock in on a specific topic of attention, whatever seems most urgent this moment just takes over. This tends to lead to something that looks externally like constant procrastination and slacking off, but subjectively doesn’t feel relaxing at all because it isn’t a passive procrastination but going off in every which direction. Its kind of the difference between sitting in a parking spot and doing donuts in the same parking lot…. neither is going anywhere, but one of them is going to wear out your tires anyway.
The difference is that ADHD brains crave it, but don’t get it.
Neurotypical brains will release dopamine all the time just for doing small things. Eating, finishing something on your to-do list, learning something, etc. and satisfy the craving while also encouraging the person to stay on task and do things since they’re getting rewards for doing so.
ADHD brains don’t release that dopamine, so when an ADHD person completes something on their to-do list, they barely feel anything. This means they’re constantly searching for things that *will* give them that dopamine, whether it’s physical stimulation, the small dopamine hits of constantly starting new tasks, etc. leading them to appear hyperactive even though it’s really just being desperate for some kind of stimulation.
BONUS KNOWLEDGE: This is also why stimulants work to treat ADD/ADHD. The stimulants give a constant stream of mental rewards which allows the person to stop seeking them out and just continue to do whatever it is they’re doing. This is also why meth-heads will do crazy things, because they asked their brain “should I glue this lamp to the ceiling,” and because their brain is constantly giving mental rewards, that gets interpreted as the brain responding “that’s a great idea!”
The dopamine theory is not really the most accurate way to think about ADHD. More recent and comprehensive research shows it to be an executive function deficiency disorder, or a self-regulation disorder. That means it’s an issue with the parts of your brain that regulate and structure your activity in order for you to reach future goals.
The executive functions include inhibition (e.g. stopping an action, or waiting to respond to something instead of acting on instinct), working memory, the ability to self-motivate by regulating your internal emotional state, and the ability to plan and execute an idea.
As a result, some of the symptoms include emotional impulsivity, a lower ability to structure tasks into smaller sub-tasks and follow through from one sub-task to the other as you attempt to do the big overarching task, a lower ability to get back on task once you’re distracted by something else etc. You can also call ADHD a deficiency in persistence towards the future, or, as said above, a difficulty in self-regulating your actions towards the self in order to reach a far-away goal.
There’s nothing wrong with craving dopamine; it’s just that dopamine releasing activities tend to be really energy draining. What 99% of people struggle with is building that energy back up i.e. eating right, sleeping and exercise.
So imagine a new stim is like a freshly trampled path. If you keep walking the same path, it’s gets worn out and numb. So you have to alternate between paths so they have a chance to refresh.
I’ve had adhd for life. Here’s the ELI5. It’s a read, but it’s all very dumbed down and oversimplified
The difference between an ADHD brain and a normal one is a higher concentration of dopamine transporters. Reealllllly high level, transporters are responsible for removing dopamine from the brain, back to the original cell that created it.
That’s why ADHD is treated with stimulants like amphetamines. Adderall doesn’t give you more dopamine. It binds to the transporter keeping it busy so the brains own dopamine isn’t removed as quickly / stays in the brain.
**Oversimplified ELI5 example:**
Take twins. One with ADHD, and one without. When working a task, they will have the same starting levels of dopamine. Let’s say 60 dopamine units.
The nominal brain may lose 1 unit every minute. Giving the normal brain 60 minutes of steady focus on a task.
Now the ADHD brain loses 1 unit every 10 seconds. So at most they have 600 seconds, 10 minutes of focus on a task
So the ADHD brain bounces between several things to get that initial dopamine rush, then immediately abandon that as the dopamine wears off FAST. A normal person will not need to seek out additional dopamine because they **still have some of that original amount**
TL-DR;
There’s a finite amount of dopamine in the brain when starting a task. Normal brains spread that dopamine out over the period of time the task takes. ADHD brains have more transporters (what removes dopamine from the brain). So the task runs out of “pleasure” and they seek a new one.
See, I got these little holes in my brain and when things happen, dopamine goes into these holes and makes me happy. But I wayyy more holes than other people so my brain thinks I’m getting very little dopamine which makes everything pretty fucking uninteresting so I’m constantly searching for more and more something else I’m bored with that time to move on. Homework def not interesting. So on and so forth. But, with a brilliant mixture of selective serotonin receptor inhibitors and amphetamines, some of those holes are plugged up and more dopamine is delivered effectively allowing me to function and operate as a normal human being. *I think*
Coworkers have always told me I have adhd. But I’ve always argued against it because I’m so lazy at home. Makes sense because work is my dopamine release and at home I lack that feeling. Now I have to tell coworkers they are right….. time for the autism to kick in!!!
Every brain has dopamine to some extent, but ADHD brains lack the same quantity as non-ADHD ones. So then ADHDers do things to try and cause our brain to make more, hence the “craving.”
The issue at the core of ADHD that causes all the problems isn’t that the ADHD brain is constantly searching for dopamine. It’s that the ADHD brain’s dopamine system is completely dysregulated. That means that they are chasing after dopamine, but are basically starving for it.
That’s why people with undiagnosed/unmedicated ADHD are so prone to risky behaviour, promiscuity, gambling, addictions, substance abuse, blah blah blah. Those behaviours all spike dopamine which the ADHD brain is in desperate need of to regulate itself.
This is why stimulants are the primary method of treatment. They basically act like the rip cord of a lawnmower for the ADHD brain. Once you get it going it can keep the momentum up but without that rip cord you’re pretty much fucked.
This is all INCREDIBLY simplistic and dumbed down to illustrate a point about how ADHD fundamentally works at it’s core so take it with a grain of salt and if you’re interested at all in learning more about how ADHD works there is a great free resource on youtube available by searching Dr. Russel Barkley ADHD. There are a ton of his lectures up there in full and he is top of the field. He does a great job of explaining everything in a very simple and easy to understand way. Just keep in mind some of the lectures are kind of old at this point so while they present a great entry point to understanding ADHD you’re going to want to expand your research to more recent stuff (including some of his books) to get the most up to date info. Nothing in his lectures on youtube is wrong it’s just that there’s been even more research done since then so there’s even more info available nowadays.
Stimulant adhd medications increase your dopamine transporter levels – the things that soak up excess dopamine in your synapses. So what little dopamine you do get doesn’t last very long. A while ago people thought this was a symptom of adhd but newer research suggests it’s more of a symptom of adhd treatment. But good luck getting any organizations to put money in to these longitudinal studies. However, some have been done and the results are kind of depressing. Eg long term / permanent increase in dopamine transporters after prolonged stimulation meditation treatment.
There also a breakdown in the neural systems which sequence future-directed hierarchical behavior… the “mindset” dopamine you’re supposed to get by imagining long term rewards – the stuff that keeps you motivated to grind through tedious work due to the long term rewards you’ll get – is hard to come by. So you get burned out easily and look for stuff that is rewarding in the shorter term. Imagine all the stuff that has to happen in a certain order to get your Amazon packages. Then imagine if one part of that chain isn’t working as well as it should. Stuff may not get to where it needs to go on time.
Most brains already have enough and figure out that having more is euphoric.
ADHD brains don’t have enough then take something to get enough.
They both can over do it.
ADHD brains are less sensitive to dopamine. Meaning the same dopamine hit for a neurotypical brain needs to be much larger for an ADHD brain.
This is why our medications are stimulant based. To put it crudely, they make up the difference and allow us to be “as sensitive to dopamine” as a regular brain.
As someone with ADHD, I realized pretty quickly scrolling through all of this that I’ll never read and comprehend any of it. Best of luck to the people this thread helps though.
All brains crave reward stimulus, but when you get it maybe it lasts 15 minutes before you need to seek again. You are satisfied.
Mine lasts 30 seconds. So I’m always searching and rarely in the satisfied phase.
That’s one of the reasons why video games are addictive. They give a ready stream of reward that’s extremely hard to get anywhere else.
Dopamine is produced, transported and consumed all inside our body.
Our ADHD brains need to do ten times as many things and say ten times as many words to trigger the production and transport of the same amount of dopamine as non-ADHD brains.
This image can maybe help (https://i.imgur.com/pIRayYG.jpg). You’ll notice that ADHD brains tend to have a number of underperforming areas, but meds can help.
As for an explanation regarding dopamine, perhaps it can help to think of those of us with ADHD as dopamine addicts. We can’t quite seem to get enough, for whatever the reason. That said, this also isn’t the only thing. Like, our sensory filter in the amygdala is at a lower threshold – so we’re aware of more things around us at a cognitive level as compared to “neurotypicals.” Our brains receive way more information than our minds are aware of. ADHD brains project more of that information to the mind. So not only are we distracted by more things, we’re aware of more things too. Our brains are saying – from a very fundamental level about what the world is – that the way that leaf out the window is dancing in the wind *is vitally important to be aware of*. And the person coughing. And the sound of the door opening. And the feel on the teeth – did you brush them today? Oh right you should start flossing soon. But that reminds you of how the invention of floss was related to the philosophy of Phoenicia, or whatever. Annnnnd you just missed the last minute of whatever your friend was talking about.
Regarding dopamine, I’ve liked the wording that ADHD is a life under the tyranny of the interesting. If something is interesting – if it’s giving us dopamine – then it becomes the world. Pulling us away is infuriating to us. Kids scream. Adults brood. That Wikipedia article about forth century ideas about the sun and moon was ***everything*** and you took us away from it, and for what? For what? To talk about weekend plans that could have been in a text message? Arrrggghhh. (For example).
But if something is boring, trying to focus is like trying to take a poop when constipated. It’s much more interesting to think about a thousand other things than listen to John go on about Susan at work and blablabla *ughghhhhhh please make it stoooooopppppp* (for example).
It’s not exact, and not a full picture, but it might be helpful to think our brains as producing dopamine but sucking it up too quickly. So we need more than most people *when living in this boring society* in order to perform in this boring society.
This tendency to recover dopamine so quickly means we’re always looking for another “fix.” We’re always keeping track of stimuli and potential stimuli and feel a deep need – akin to going to the bathroom when having diarrhea – that things that give dopamine need to be done RIGHT NOW!!! and they can’t be pulled away from until they aren’t giving the dopamine anymore.
It ends up leading to things like when I could study Ancient Greek for 10 hours at a time, forgetting to drink and forgetting to pee, but feeling incapable of doing the dishes even though mold was growing and the kitchen was smelly. (“Why do I have a headache? … Oh, it’s 4am. I guess I haven’t drunk any liquids for 11 hours. Oh right! That coffee I made is probably still on the counter!”)
Eli5: We’re all searching for dopamine. But ADHD brains suck it up with a shop vac while neurotypicals suck it up with a drinking straw. So we need more, otherwise we’re going to leave in 5 minutes to go find another source.