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Stress and Dopamine

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter with a vital role in several functions of the brain: sleep, mood, motivation, behavior, reward, cognition, attention and voluntary movements. As a result, any type of stress can be a significant influence on the cerebral dopaminergic (DA) system.

  1. Function

    • The body physiologically responds to stressful conditions by activating the DA system, which triggers the release of dopamine.

    Fight or Flight

    • Dopamine is a precursor to norepinephrine, which is a stress hormone synthesized from dopamine and released in the body's fight-or-flight response to a stressful event.

    Psychological Stress

    • Research in Neuropsychopharmacology (July 2008) shows that psychologically stressful situations also increase the release of dopamine, and that significant psychosocial stressors (e.g., mother-infant relationship disruptions) can have long lasting effects.

    Effects

    • The release of dopamine is a coping mechanism for the body when impacted by stressful conditions; the levels will rise and fall with the addition or removal of stressors respectively.

    Behaviors

    • In response to additional stress, an organism's increased production of dopamine can provoke certain behaviors such as hyperactivity: this is because dopamine has a role in the control of movement, understanding and some social behaviors (i.e., emotional reactions, impulsiveness).

    Risk Factors

    • Abnormal function of the DA system (such as overproduction of dopamine) can lead to psychosis (hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, mania) according to research in the Journal of Neuroscience (March 2004).

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