The context for this page is "neurotransmitters that affect behavior" that are part of drug regimens for ADHD. These are crude copypasta from around the Internet for now.
Dopamine
"Dopamine" from Cleveland Clinic:
- Dopamine plays a role in your body’s reward system, which includes feeling pleasure, achieving heightened arousal and learning.
- Dopamine also helps with focus, concentration, memory, sleep, mood and motivation.
- Diseases associated with dysfunctions of the dopamine system include Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, bipolar disease, restless legs syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
- Many highly addictive drugs (cocaine, methamphetamines, amphetamines) act directly on the dopamine system.
"How to Treat Low Dopamine Levels" from Very Well Mind:
- Exercise - [...] Studies carried out on animals have shown that certain portions of the brain are flushed with dopamine during physical activity
- Natural Sources - [...] bananas, plantain, and avocado have been found to contain high levels of dopamine. Apples, eggplant, spinach, and tomatoes have also been recognized as dopamine sources. Proteins are also notable components in the dopamine production process
- Probiotics - [...] it may also be useful for the production of dopamine and other neurotransmitters (
- Music - [...] may be due to the ability of music to stimulate dopamine production in the brain. This leaves you with feelings of pleasure and excitement when listening to music, and can help to increase dwindling dopamine levels
"The Science of Curiosity" from Britannica:
Researchers have determined that dopamine, the brain’s reward chemical, is intricately linked to the brain’s curiosity state. When you explore and satisfy your curiosity, your brain floods your body with dopamine, which makes you feel happier.
"Role of Dopamine in Self Motivsation" from Geekculture:
Theory follows (the entire article has a number of interesting ideas about the theoretical mechanics of dopamine from systematic perspective):
"Dopamine is the central molecule in this process of signaling the values of behaviors and states in the world, by encoding the reward prediction error it can teach our brains optimal ways of adjusting our expectations of reward in the outside world, allowing us to make better decisions."
Serotonin
"Serotonin" from Cleveland Clinic:
- Serotonin is an inhibitory neurotransmitter.
- Serotonin helps regulate mood, sleep patterns, sexuality, anxiety, appetite and pain.
- Diseases associated with serotonin imbalance include seasonal affective disorder, anxiety, depression, fibromyalgia and chronic pain.
- Medications that regulate serotonin and treat these disorders include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs)
Norepinephrine
"Norepinephrine" from Cleveland Clinic:
- Norepinephrine (also called noradrenaline) increases blood pressure and heart rate.
- It’s most widely known for its effects on alertness, arousal, decision-making, attention and focus.
- Many medications (stimulants and depression medications) aim to increase norepinephrine levels to improve focus or concentration to treat ADHD or to modulate norepinephrine to improve depression symptoms.