What Is Dopamine? What It Does in the Brain and Body

Dopamine is a chemical messenger made by nerve cells and some other cells in the body. In the brain it helps drive motivation, learning from rewards, movement and attention; outside the brain it helps the kidneys handle salt and keeps the hormone prolactin in check. It is often called the "pleasure chemical," but research suggests it has more to do with wanting and working toward things than with enjoying them. This guide explains what dopamine is, how your body makes it, what it does in the brain and body, and what everyday research shows about it.

It is educational, not medical advice.

Key Takeaways

• What it is: a neurotransmitter in the catecholamine family, built from the amino acid tyrosine, which comes from protein in food.
• Wanting, not liking: rats that lost up to 99% of dopamine in key brain areas still reacted normally to the taste of sugar, which led researchers to conclude dopamine drives "wanting" rewards rather than "liking" them (Berridge and Robinson, 1998).
• A learning signal: dopamine neurons respond to surprises, firing more when something turns out better than expected (Schultz et al., 1997).
• Not just the brain: organs in the gut make close to half of the dopamine formed in the body (Eisenhofer et al., 1997).
• Sleep matters: one night without sleep reduced dopamine receptor availability in a reward area of the brain, along with lower alertness (Volkow et al., 2012).

What Is Dopamine?

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, a chemical that nerve cells release to pass signals to other cells. It belongs to a family called catecholamines, along with norepinephrine and epinephrine (adrenaline), and it is the starting material the body uses to make both of them.

Only a small group of brain cells make dopamine, clustered in a few areas deep in the brain, but their long branches reach many regions involved in movement, motivation, planning and mood (Björklund and Dunnett, 2007). Dopamine is also made and used in the gut, kidneys and other tissues, where it acts locally rather than as a brain signal.

Is dopamine a hormone or a neurotransmitter?

Mostly a neurotransmitter, but it can work like a hormone too. Nerve cells in the hypothalamus release dopamine into small blood vessels that carry it to the pituitary gland, where it holds back the release of prolactin (Ben-Jonathan and Hnasko, 2001). Carried by blood to act on another gland, it is behaving like a hormone.

How Your Body Makes Dopamine

Dopamine is built in a short chain of steps:

1. Phenylalanine or tyrosine, amino acids from protein foods such as eggs, dairy, fish, meat, soy and beans, are the raw material. The body can also turn phenylalanine into tyrosine.
2. Tyrosine becomes L-DOPA. The enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase does this, and it is the slowest, rate-limiting step in the chain (Fernstrom and Fernstrom, 2007).
3. L-DOPA becomes dopamine in one quick further step.
4. Some dopamine becomes norepinephrine, and some of that becomes epinephrine, in the cells that make those messengers.

The same review notes that eating more protein, in a single meal or over several days, raises tyrosine in the brain and stimulates catecholamine production in nerve cells that are actively firing, though what this means for everyday function is still unknown (Fernstrom and Fernstrom, 2007). Our comparison of L-theanine vs L-tyrosine looks at tyrosine as a supplement.

What Dopamine Does in the Brain

Motivation and "wanting"

Dopamine helps turn a goal into action. A review of motivation research describes dopamine in a brain area called the nucleus accumbens as important for getting started, putting in effort and staying with a task, and calls the "reward neuron" label an overgeneralization (Salamone and Correa, 2012). In a brain scan study of 25 healthy volunteers, people whose dopamine systems responded more in the striatum and part of the prefrontal cortex were more willing to work harder for bigger rewards (Treadway et al., 2012).

Learning from surprises

In studies in primates, dopamine neurons changed their firing when a reward was better or worse than predicted, which works like a teaching signal that updates expectations (Schultz et al., 1997).

Movement

Dopamine from an area called the substantia nigra helps the brain start and smooth out movement. Parkinson's disease is marked by the loss of dopamine in the central nervous system, which is why treatment aims to replace it (Haddad et al., 2017).

Attention and alertness

Dopamine receptors are involved in wakefulness. After one night of sleep deprivation, 20 volunteers had lower dopamine receptor availability in the ventral striatum, and this was linked with lower alertness and more sleepiness (Volkow et al., 2012). Our guide on how to focus covers practical ways to protect attention.

The Main Dopamine Pathways

Scientists group dopamine nerve fibers into a few main routes. Each starts in one small area and reaches a different target:

Pathway	From and to	Linked with
Mesolimbic	Ventral tegmental area to the nucleus accumbens	Motivation, wanting and reward learning
Mesocortical	Ventral tegmental area to the prefrontal cortex	Attention, planning and working memory
Nigrostriatal	Substantia nigra to the dorsal striatum	Starting and controlling movement
Tuberoinfundibular	Hypothalamus to the pituitary gland	Holding back prolactin release

Because dopamine is so closely tied to effort, our guide on how to find motivation turns this research into everyday steps.

What Dopamine Does in the Body

• Gut. In a study measuring blood flowing to and from the organs of the gut, those organs produced close to half of all the dopamine formed in the body, much of it apparently not from nerves (Eisenhofer et al., 1997).
• Kidneys. The kidney has its own complete dopamine system. Cells in the kidney tubules make dopamine, which helps the body get rid of extra salt; when salt intake is moderately high, dopamine accounts for about 50% of sodium excretion (Carey, 2001).
• Pituitary gland. Dopamine is the main brake on prolactin, a hormone best known for milk production, by acting on D2 receptors in the pituitary (Ben-Jonathan and Hnasko, 2001).

Is Dopamine the "Pleasure Chemical"?

Not quite. Dopamine release does rise around rewarding experiences: in brain scans, people released dopamine in the striatum while playing a video game (Koepp et al., 1998), and listeners released dopamine while anticipating and then feeling the peak moments of music they loved (Salimpoor et al., 2011). But dopamine also rises before the reward arrives, and the music study found the anticipation and the peak feeling involved different parts of the striatum.

The strongest evidence against the "pleasure chemical" label comes from animals that lost almost all their dopamine in key areas yet still showed normal enjoyment reactions to sweet tastes. The researchers concluded dopamine is needed for "wanting" rewards, not for "liking" them (Berridge and Robinson, 1998). A better short description is that dopamine is a motivation and learning chemical. For how it compares with serotonin, see our guide to dopamine vs serotonin.

What Affects Dopamine Day to Day

• Sleep. Losing a night of sleep lowered dopamine receptor availability and alertness in the study above (Volkow et al., 2012). See how much deep sleep you need.
• Rewarding activities. Games and music you enjoy triggered measurable dopamine release in brain scans (Koepp et al., 1998; Salimpoor et al., 2011).
• Deep relaxation. A brain scan study of yoga nidra estimated a rise in dopamine release during the practice (Kjaer et al., 2002); our guide to non-sleep deep rest covers it.
• Protein. Protein supplies the tyrosine dopamine is made from (Fernstrom and Fernstrom, 2007).

Products sold as dopamine boosters deserve a careful look; our review of dopamine patches shows how to judge them. A steady morning routine with light, movement and a regular wake time supports the sleep and energy side.

For practical habits and what the research shows for each, see our guide on how to increase dopamine naturally.

Phenylethylamine, a trace amine found in foods like chocolate, is a chemical relative of dopamine; our phenylethylamine guide explains what is known.

Can You Measure Your Dopamine Level?

Not in a simple way. Dopamine measured in blood or urine mostly reflects dopamine made in the gut and kidneys (Eisenhofer et al., 1997; Carey, 2001), and dopamine in the blood crosses poorly into the brain (Haddad et al., 2017), so these tests do not show brain dopamine. The brain studies in this guide used research scanners. Feeling flat or unmotivated has many possible causes, from short sleep to stress, so it is worth talking to a doctor rather than guessing.

Where Our Products Fit

We do not claim that any of our products raise dopamine. The Mood Stack combines Kanna Nasal Spray, Anandamide Supplement and Lithium Orotate to support a brighter, steadier mood; our kanna guide explains the main ingredient. For focus, Clarity Capsules combine lion's mane, bacopa, rhodiola, maca, epimedium and huperzine A to support focus and mental clarity. The stress and mood and cognitive health hubs have the bigger picture. Our Lithium Orotate Supplement is designed to support everyday calm, a balanced mood and focus.

Safety and When to See a Doctor

Safety note: many prescription medicines act on dopamine, including treatments for Parkinson's disease, ADHD, depression and some mental health conditions. Do not add supplements such as tyrosine or kanna to a medicine like these without asking your doctor or pharmacist. Talk to a doctor about lasting low motivation, low mood, shaking or stiffness, or changes in movement, and seek help straight away if you have thoughts of harming yourself.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is dopamine in simple terms?

A chemical messenger that helps your brain want things, work toward them, learn from results and control movement. It also has jobs in the gut, kidneys and pituitary gland.

Is dopamine a hormone or a neurotransmitter?

Mainly a neurotransmitter. It also works like a hormone when the hypothalamus sends it through the blood to the pituitary gland to hold back prolactin.

What does dopamine do?

In the brain it supports motivation, effort, learning from rewards, movement and alertness. In the body it helps the kidneys handle salt and controls prolactin.

Is dopamine the happy chemical?

Not exactly. Research suggests dopamine drives wanting and motivation more than the feeling of pleasure itself.

Where is dopamine made?

In small groups of brain cells, mainly in the midbrain and hypothalamus, and in the gut and kidneys. The gut makes close to half of the dopamine formed in the body.

What is dopamine made from?

The amino acid tyrosine, which comes from protein foods or is made from phenylalanine. Tyrosine becomes L-DOPA, which becomes dopamine.

Can you test your dopamine level?

Blood and urine tests mostly reflect dopamine made in the gut and kidneys, not the brain. Brain dopamine is measured only with research scanners.

What lowers dopamine signaling?

Sleep loss is one well studied example: one night without sleep reduced dopamine receptor availability in a reward area of the brain.

Sources

• Berridge KC, Robinson TE. What is the role of dopamine in reward: hedonic impact, reward learning, or incentive salience? Brain Res Brain Res Rev. 1998. PubMed 9858756
• Schultz W, Dayan P, Montague PR. A neural substrate of prediction and reward. Science. 1997. PubMed 9054347
• Eisenhofer G, et al. Substantial production of dopamine in the human gastrointestinal tract. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1997. PubMed 9360553
• Volkow ND, et al. Evidence that sleep deprivation downregulates dopamine D2R in ventral striatum in the human brain. J Neurosci. 2012. PubMed 22573693
• Björklund A, Dunnett SB. Dopamine neuron systems in the brain: an update. Trends Neurosci. 2007. PubMed 17408759
• Ben-Jonathan N, Hnasko R. Dopamine as a prolactin (PRL) inhibitor. Endocr Rev. 2001. PubMed 11739329
• Fernstrom JD, Fernstrom MH. Tyrosine, phenylalanine, and catecholamine synthesis and function in the brain. J Nutr. 2007. PubMed 17513421
• Salamone JD, Correa M. The mysterious motivational functions of mesolimbic dopamine. Neuron. 2012. PubMed 23141060
• Treadway MT, et al. Dopaminergic mechanisms of individual differences in human effort-based decision-making. J Neurosci. 2012. PubMed 22553023
• Haddad F, et al. Dopamine and levodopa prodrugs for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Molecules. 2017. PubMed 29295587
• Carey RM. Renal dopamine system: paracrine regulator of sodium homeostasis and blood pressure. Hypertension. 2001. PubMed 11566894
• Kjaer TW, et al. Increased dopamine tone during meditation-induced change of consciousness. Brain Res Cogn Brain Res. 2002. PubMed 11958969
• Koepp MJ, et al. Evidence for striatal dopamine release during a video game. Nature. 1998. PubMed 9607763
• Salimpoor VN, et al. Anatomically distinct dopamine release during anticipation and experience of peak emotion to music. Nat Neurosci. 2011. PubMed 21217764

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This content is for education and is not medical advice. Our products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Talk with a healthcare provider before starting a new supplement if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or taking medication.