DEEP DIVE · CHAPTER 5
The Two Keys
Dopamine works through two families of receptors. The same molecule presses the gas on one family and the brake on the other, which is why no drug simply boosts dopamine.
I stopped believing the phrase “boost your dopamine” the day I understood the receptors. The same molecule presses the gas on one family of locks and the brake on the other, and no drug ever gets to choose which circuit it lands in. Here is the map I actually draw for patients, and the one rule I would nail to every prescriber’s wall.
13 pages · 16 references, every one verified · written by Dr. Gurpreet Singh Padda, MD, MBA, MHP
Watch Chapter 5
The chapter on video — the same argument, with the figures and the studies on screen as they come up.
Frequently asked questions
What are the types of dopamine receptors?
Dopamine works through two families of receptors. The same dopamine molecule presses the gas on one family and the brake on the other. So what dopamine does depends on which family it reaches, not just on how much of it is around. Chapter 5 draws the map of those two families the way the author draws it for his own patients.
Can you boost your dopamine with a drug?
Not in any simple way. Because the same molecule speeds up one receptor family and slows the other, there is no single dial that turns dopamine up. No drug gets to choose which circuit it lands in. That is why no drug simply boosts dopamine, and why the author stopped believing the phrase “boost your dopamine” the day he understood the receptors.
What should I ask my doctor about a dopamine medication?
Start with the receptors. Ask which receptor family the medication is meant to reach, since the same dopamine signal presses the gas on one family and the brake on the other, and no drug chooses the circuit it lands in. The Chapter 5 Deep Dive lists the studies and the questions to bring to your physician, and it is written to be shared with your doctor.
The receipts behind Chapter 5
The book makes the argument. This Deep Dive shows the evidence, claim by claim: the study, who was in it, the number and where it sits in the paper, what it does not show — and the questions to bring to your own physician. It is written to be shared with your doctor.
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Educational material, not medical advice. If you are in the St. Louis area and want this looked at properly, that is what the Addictionology Center is for.
