Huberman Lab

Podcast Notes Key Takeaways

• Dopamine is involved in wanting – not having – the excitement or anticipation about something increases dopamine firing 30-40x
• Dopamine motivates you to take action toward the thing you want
• Novelty is the number one trigger of dopamine release
• A subtle feature about the dopamine system: for every bit of dopamine that’s released, there’s a crash associated when prolactin is released
• Prolactin is behind the feeling of “what’s next” or letdown after a big goal
• Dopamine make us focus on things outside of us that we have to chase; serotonin makes us content with the here and now
• To maintain high levels of motivation, try intermittent reward: celebrate successes every other time, every tenth time, etc. to blunt dopamine response, prevent a crash, and keep you on the path to bigger goals

Read the full notes @ podcastnotes.org

This episode explains the science of motivation and drive. I describe how dopamine-- a chemical we all make in our brain, underlies our desire for and pursuit of our goals, as well as our capacity to move and experience pleasure. I describe how we can leverage specific behaviors, reward schedules and dopamine-prolactin balance to help ensure we can maintain motivation and capacity for pleasure over the long term. I also discuss dopamine in the context of ADHD, craving and addiction, and some absolutely amazing results about specificity of drug effects based purely on belief.

Thank you to our sponsors:

• Athletic Greens - https://athleticgreens.com/huberman
• Headspace - http://headspace.com/specialoffer
• Magic Spoon - http://magicspoon.com/huberman

Our Patreon page:

• https://www.patreon.com/andrewhuberman

Supplements from Thorne:

• http://www.thorne.com/u/huberman

Link to study:

• Effects of expectation on specificity of stimulant effects: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33734725/

Timestamps below.

• 00:00:00 Introduction
• 00:04:22 Announcement: Spanish Subtitles
• 00:05:06 Emotions, Addiction & Mindset
• 00:06:22 Motivation & Movement: The Dopamine Connection
• 00:07:29 A Double-Edged Dopamine Blade
• 00:08:56 Dopamine Fundamentals: Precursor to Adrenalin
• 00:10:15 The Reward Pathway: An Accelerator & A Brake
• 00:12:10 Motivation= Pleasure Plus Pain
• 00:14:14 The Dopamine Staircase: Food, Sex, Nicotine, Cocaine, Amphetamine
• 00:16:15 Subjective Control of Dopamine Release
• 00:17:40 Social Media and Video Games
• 00:18:15 Addiction & Dopamine: Progressively Diminishing Returns
• 00:18:48 Novelty, Sensation-Seeking & Anticipation
• 00:20:15 Craving: Part Pain, Part Pleasure & Pain Always Prevails
• 00:23:11 Desire Scales With Pain: The Yearning Function
• 00:24:43 The Croissant Craving Circuit
• 00:25:45 “Here and Now” Molecules: Serotonin, Bliss & Raphe Nucleus
• 00:26:26 In Your Skin Or Out In the World
• 00:27:25 Cannabinoids Lethargy & Forgetfulness
• 00:28:15 The Almond Meditation
• 00:29:30 Drugs That Shift Exteroception Versus Interoception
• 00:30:36 Emotional Balance, Active & Passive Manipulation
• 00:32:36 Procrastination: Leveraging Stress, Breathing, Caffeine, L-Tyrosine, Prescription Drugs
• 00:37:04 When Enough Is Never Enough; How Dopamine Undermines Itself
• 00:38:58 Dopamine-Prolactin Dynamics: Sex, Reproduction & Refractory Periods
• 00:40:30 The Coolidge Effect: Novelty-Induced Suppression of Prolactin
• 00:42:22 Vitamin B6, Zinc As Mild Prolactin Inhibitors
• 00:43:25 Schizophrenia, Dopamine Hyperactivity and Side Effects of Anti-Dopaminergic Drugs
• 00:45:08 Prolactin, Post-Satisfaction “Lows” & Extending the Arc of Dopamine
• 00:48:00 The Chemistry of “I Won, But Now What?”
• 00:49:00 Healthy Emotional Development: Child and Parent
• 00:50:03 Never Say “Maybe” (Reward Prediction Error)
• 00:52:02 Surprise!
• 00:52:59 Are You Suppressing Your Drive and Motivation By Working Too Late?
• 00:54:50 Disambiguating Pleasure and Drive: Dopamine Makes Us Anti-Lazy
• 00:58:00 Beta-Phenylethylamine (PEA), & Acetyl L-Carnitine
• 01:00:00 Attention Deficit Disorders, Cal Newport Books, Impulsivity & Obesity
• 01:03:55 Leveraging Dopamine Schedules
• 01:05:22 Subjective Control of Dopamine and Drug Effects: The “Adderall” Experiment
• 01:09:03 Caffeine May Protect Dopamine Neurons, Methamphetamine Kills Them
• 01:10:57 Nicotine: Dopamine, Possible Neuroprotection, Prolactin Increase
• 01:11:53 Gambling, Intermittent Reinforcement, & Persistent Goal Seeking (Bad and Good)
• 01:14:14 Intermittent Halting of Celebration; Enjoy Your Wins, But Not All of Them
• 01:18:38 A Story Example of Intermittent Reward to Maintain Long-Term Drive and Motivation
• 01:21:25 Corrections & Notes About Spanish Captions & Other Languages Soon
• 01:24:00 Synthesis & Framework, Zero-Cost Support & A Note About Sponsors

 

Please note that The Huberman Lab Podcast is distinct from Dr. Huberman's teaching and research roles at Stanford University School of Medicine. The information provided in this show is not medical advice, nor should it be taken or applied as a replacement for medical advice. The Huberman Lab Podcast, its employees, guests and affiliates assume no liability for the application of the information discussed.

[Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac https://www.blabacphoto.com/]