Understanding the Role of Dopamine in Addiction: Animal and Human Studies

This article discusses the role of dopamine in addiction and its impact on the brain and its receptors. It explores the use of neurotransmitters like dopamine to allow messages to travel between the brain and nerve cells. The article also covers genetic, optogenetic, and imaging research methods and their implications. The study includes animal and human participants and their response to dopamine in addiction.

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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Addiction refers to the term which is treatable, genetics, chronic medical disease which can
involve complex interactions among within individual genetics and brain circuits. This is the one
which can lead to create high impact in individual lifestyle. Here, dopamine is the
neurotransmitter which is responsible for the addiction within individual. This is the one which
act on brain and can lead to trains brain and help in avoiding the unpleasant experiences which
can seek to pleasurable one. Here, neurotransmitter role is to provide relief from any type of
mental health issue like stress or any unpleasant disorder like addiction which have negative
impact. In this, there is discussion about the understanding of dopamine role in addiction which
includes the understand of neurotransmitter. There is also discussion about the extent of variation
which includes the neurotransmitter and its receptor. It also includes the understand of research
method. There is also discussion about the animal study and human participants study (Spitta and
et. al., 2022).
MAIN BODY
Dopamine can be referring as the neurotransmitter which is helpful in providing good
feeling to individual. This is the one which have high extent towards the delivery of proper
endorphins, serotonin along with endorphins (Yusoff and et. al., 2022). There is unique primary
function which are effective and can allow to get better and effective response towards it. This
can also include the pleasant-reward system within brain. Here, dopamine plays an important
role in the feeling of motivation which are required to perform any work to achieve the goal.
Their also provide the sense of satisfaction which can help through accomplishing the tasks.
There are some of symptoms which includes anxiety, high libido, difficult sleeping, mania,
increased energy, stress improved ability to focus and learning. There are some of the
characteristics of dopamine which includes the curious, spontaneous, restless, impulsive,
energetic, mentally flexible and others.
Dopamine is generally a type of neurotransmitter (Lv and et. al., 2022). The human body
can make it as well as the nervous system can uses it to send the messages among the nerve cells.
This is the reason; it is sometimes known as a chemical messenger as well. The Dopamine can
play a key role in how a person can feel pleasure. It is generally considered as a big part of the
unique human capability in order to think and plan. It generally helps a person to strive,

concentrate as well as can find the things more interesting. In this, a person's body can efficiently
spread it along the four major pathways within the brain (Fei and et. al., 2022). It is generally
made within the brain via the two step procedures such as firstly, it can alter the amino acid
tyrosine to a substance known as dopa and then into a dopamine. Dopamine generally influences
various parts of the behaviour and a physical function like the motivation, heart rate, lactations,
sleep, mood, learnings, functioning of the kidneys, pain processing and many more. In context
with Dopamine receptors, these are generally expressed within the central nervous system, more
specifically within the hippocampal dentate gyrus as well as the sub-ventricular zone as well.
The receptors of the Dopamine are also expressed within the periphery, more prominently within
the kidneys as well as the vasculature. In addition to this, there are generally five types of
receptors of Dopamine that involve D1, D2, D3, D4 and D5 (de Jong, Fraser and Lammel, 2022).
In contrast with Addiction, the addictive drugs can effectively create a shortcut to the
rewards by simply sending a flood of the dopamine towards the nucleus. In this, the Nicotine is
generally the main psychoactive constituent that is found within the tobacco which has been
exhibited and to be responsible for its both physiological as well as behavioural effects and can
lead to the addiction. It can specifically exert effects within the human brain by simply acting on
a specific type of a receptor for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, generally known as a nicotine
receptor. In this, some of the nicotine receptors are generally situated on the cell bodies of the
dopamine neurons among the Ventral tegmental area (VTA) as well as its activation of these
such receptors can specifically enhances the activities of these such dopamine neurons,
specifically leading to an elevation in the release of dopamine in the Nucleus accumbens (NAcc),
that can be thought to mediate the rewards. The addiction receptors are generally located on the
various other neurotransmitter inputs to the Ventral tegmental area as well as can further enhance
the release of the dopamine by simply removing the inhibitory impacts such that these such other
inputs of neurotransmitters can exerts over the dopamine neurons. In addition to this, the specific
role of the mesolimbic dopamine system within the addiction such as nicotine rewards generally
has been more clearly demonstrated within the animals. It is because both the administration of
the dopamine blockers as well as the destruction of the mesolimbic dopamine ways with a
selective neurotoxins reduced addiction like self-administration of nicotine (Haleem, 2018).
There are some of the research method which includes genetic studies, Optogenetic and
Imaging techniques.

Genetic studies: In this, the genetic research is generally the study of the human DNA in
order to find out about the genes as well as their environmental elements that can specifically
contribute towards illness. If it can be find out that what things can cause illness or addiction,
then it can easy to detect the illness or addiction and can able to better treat or can provide
effective care treatment to reduce or overcome the specific illness from happening in the very
first place.
Optogenetic: It can generally be mapping out as well as can create various possibilities for
investigating how the human brain can work. The specific technique can enhance as well as more
opsins are discovered, and there is a possibility for even more controls present within the human
brain stimulation investigations.
Imaging techniques: The essential research techniques can provide a detailed anatomical as
well as physiological images of the body in order to ease the research, their diagnosis as well as
the care treatment of various ailments. In addition to this, the brain imaging studies can
significantly provide the information on the drugs, their neurological effects can specifically aid
to illustrate the causes as well as its mechanisms of the drugs misuse as well as can yield
essential insights into a misuser's behaviour as well as experiences consisting their struggle in the
recovery as well (Jhamb and Mittal, 2022).
There is many mental health related disorder which can be within any individual. In this,
there is need to ensure about the use of neurotransmitter like dopamine which can be effective in
allowing message to travel between brain and nerve cells. There can be interruption in the
message sending which includes the consequences that may result to anxiety and depression.
There are about billions of nerve cells within brain which do not make actual contact. Here, it is
the responsibility of neurotransmitter which can related with transporting messages which are
essential from back to forth. In influence the behaviour which may include mood and behaviour,
trigger anxiety, aggression and mood swings (Zeric, 2022).
Here, nerve impulses are travel with the brain through the long cellular structured which are
known as the axons, which can lead to reach the presynaptic membrane. These membranes sent
into synaptic clefts or free spaces or to any other neuron receptors which are controlled by them.
It allows neuron to gather the neurotransmitter internalise within nerve impulses which can help
in continuing the message to forward (Hossain and et. al., 2022).

There are some of the studies which are effective and allow to provide the information
about the use and effect of dopamine on human and animal brain. Through study there are some
of the identification about the effect of dopamine which are associated with use and effect of
dopamine which are associated with impact on brain (Wang and et. al., 2018).
Here, with the study of traditional animal model which includes the overuse of drug
which can influence the animal behaviour that emphasises the drug action as positive
reinforcements. Here, aspects of behaviour are controlled through the consequences. This include
the training of an animal which includes self-administer within short session. Here, rodents are
used in studies which are low ratio and typically can be used to get the operant response within
drug delivery. Through using the dopamine impact on the animal, it provides some learning and
information which are effective and provide some knowledge and result about the use and impact
of dopamine on animal. It can include that animal study can provide crucial understanding about
the drug addiction and their misuse. Here, animal models have focus on drugs ability which can
focus on controlling animal behaviour (Kreckler and et. al., 2022). It effect is not dependent on
pre-existing condition. Here, exposure to drug can motive individual animal to drug-intake
behaviour. Though using rats for the experimental study it provides various information which
include the ventral tegmental area where dopaminergic projection occurs to both prefrontal
cortex and nucleus accumbens. These are critically involved within mediating behaviour which
include the brain regions along with signalling pathways. Here, misuse of dopamine can include
the pathway which particularly increase the nucleus accumbens and hence dopamine release can
be prevented. Here, dopaminergic agents are obvious which can include the fail to produce the
accepted effective pharmacotherapy. This can be impact as sever adverse effects which may
include headaches, tachycardia, hypertension, nausea and psychosis like symptoms (Animal
Models of Substance Abuse and Addiction: Implications for Science, Animal Welfare, and
Society, (2010)).
There is also study of dopamine on the human participates after getting better and
effective response towards the impact of dopamine on the animal brain. This can also provide
better and effective information through the human participants study where impact of dopamine
in addiction can be have different understanding and learning (Grandi and et. al., 2018).
Through study on human participants, it has been observed that there is neurochemical along
with functional changes can be observed within brain which includes the drug-addiction. This

can also provide some new insights within the mechanisms which underline the addiction.
Through sin the neurochemical study it provides the information that large and fast increase in
dopamine level can reinforce the effect the drug of abuse that can also observed as the drug
abuse. Here, brain function can be decrease and can lead to impact the brain dopamine function
which are also informed as the decrease in the prefrontal regions. It can also result in decreased
dysfunction in prefrontal regions that include the cingulate gyrus and orbitofrontal cortex. This
can lead to create some change in the brain dopamine function which can also lead to create
decrease in sensitivity that are affected as the natural reinforces. It also disruption of frontal
cortical function which includes the inhibitory control along with salience attribution. It can
include the loss of control along with compulsive drug which refers as the characterise addiction.
This can consequence in conditioned learning and can adaptation in high level of stimulation
which are induced through the drug abuse which also include the cognitive control circuit
decreased activity (The addicted human brain: insights from imaging studies, (2003)).
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion, it can have concluded that their dopamine has an important
role in addiction. This is the one which have high impact on providing better and effective feel to
individual where it stimulates the good feeling and reduce the unpleasant feeling. This includes
high impact on the anxiety and depression which have role in decreasing the negative health
impact on dealing with better and effective role in respond towards the role of dopamine in
addiction within depression and other mental health disorder. There is discussion about the sign
and symptoms of dopamine which leads to create addiction within individual. There is also
response of nerves. There is also discussion about the understanding of neurotransmitter. It also
includes the three research method that are related with dopamine causing addiction.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
de Jong, J.W., Fraser, K.M. and Lammel, S., 2022. Mesoaccumbal Dopamine Heterogeneity:
What Do Dopamine Firing and Release Have to Do with It?. Annual Review of
Neuroscience, 45.
Fei, Y.Y., Johnson, P.A., Omran, N.A., Mardon, A. and Johnson, J.C., 2022. Maladaptive or
misunderstood? Dopamine fasting as a potential intervention for behavioral
addiction. Lifestyle Medicine, 3(1), p.e54.
Haleem, D.J., 2018. Serotonin-1A receptor dependent modulation of pain and reward for
improving therapy of chronic pain. Pharmacological research, 134, pp.212-219.
Hossain, G. and Faiyazuddin, M., 2022. Media Addiction Behaviour, Computer Vision
Syndrome and Neural Patterns.
Jhamb, D. and Mittal, A., 2022. How do possessiveness, nongenerosity and envy in young
female consumers convert into shopping addiction?. Journal of Consumer Behaviour.
Lv, Y., Jing, M.Y., Li, P.Y., Zhao, T.Y., Pang, C., Lu, G.Y., Wang, Z.Y., Wu, N., Hu, G., Song,
R. and Li, J., 2022. Aquaporin-4 deletion attenuates opioid-induced addictive behaviours
associated with dopamine levels in nucleus accumbens. Neuropharmacology, 208,
p.108986.
Spitta, G., Gleich, T., Zacharias, K., Butler, O., Buchert, R. and Gallinat, J., 2022. Extrastriatal
Dopamine D2/3 Receptor Availability in Alcohol Use Disorder and Individuals at High
Risk. Neuropsychobiology, pp.1-10.
Yusoff, N.H., Hassan, Z., Murugaiyah, V. and Müller, C.P., 2022. The effect of mitragynine on
extracellular activity of brain dopamine and its metabolites. Brain Research Bulletin, 178,
pp.1-8.
Zeric, T., 2022. Peri-adolescent monoamine interference alters behavioral response to cocaine
and associated dopamine dynamics in adulthood (Doctoral dissertation, Columbia
University).
Grandi, L.C., Di Giovanni, G. and Galati, S., 2018. Reprint of “Animal models of early-stage
Parkinson's disease and acute dopamine deficiency to study compensatory
neurodegenerative mechanisms”. Journal of neuroscience methods, 310, pp.75-88.
Wang, T., Nowrangi, D., Yu, L., Lu, T., Tang, J., Han, B., Ding, Y., Fu, F. and Zhang, J.H.,
2018. Activation of dopamine D1 receptor decreased NLRP3-mediated inflammation in
intracerebral hemorrhage mice. Journal of neuroinflammation, 15(1), pp.1-10.
Kreckler, L., Osinski, M., Williams, S. and Whiting, R., 2022. Non-Clinical Safety
Pharmacology Evaluations of Trazpiroben (TAK-906), a Novel Dopamine D2/D3
Selective Receptor Antagonist for the Management of Gastroparesis. Journal of
Experimental Pharmacology, 14, p.43.

Animal Models of Substance Abuse and Addiction: Implications for Science, Animal Welfare,
and Society, (2010) [Online] Available through
<https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2890392/>
The addicted human brain: insights from imaging studies, (2003) [Online] Available through <
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC155054/>