neural correlates - the dopamine hypothesis - biological explanation Flashcards
what is dopamine
a neurotransmitter
what does dopamine do
helps control the brain’s reward and pleasure centres
regulation of movement and emotional responses
what does dopamine increase
brains activity
what are some examples of stimulant drugs
caffeine, cocaine
what does dopamine help us do
not only see rewards but take action to move towards them
what is hyperdopaminergia
abnormally high levels of dopamine in the subcortex
what is hypodopaminergia
abnormally low levels of dopamine in the prefrontal cortex
what are symptoms of hyperdopaminergia
speech poverty and auditory hallucinations can be explained by excess receptors in Broca’s area
what is hypodopaminergia linked to
avolition and lack of motivation
what is the research evidence for supporting hyperdopaminergia
wise and stein carried out post mortems of schizophrenia patients and found abnormally low levels of dopamine beta hydroxylase (DBH) in brain fluid. DBH is an enzyme that breaks down dopamine after release this supports because low levels of the enzyme that break down dopamine would result in excess dopamine. Therefore we would expect abnormally high levels of dopamine
what is the research evidence to support hypodopaminergia
meador-woodruff et al, carried out post mortem investigations of 16 people who had suffered from schizophrenia and compared them to controls. they found dramatic decreases in dopamine receptors in the pre-frontal cortex this supports because fewer dopamine receptors would have resulted in reduced dopamine activity suggesting this was the cause of there schizophrenia
what is the evidence to suggest that dopamine does not provide a complete explanation for schizophrenia
although dopamine plays an important role so do other neurotransmitters. A neurotransmitter called glutamate is being looked at
what are negative points about post mortems
studies rely on post mortems but we don’t know how their live brains would function
in the dopamine hypothesis why is the cause and effect not clear
we can’t assume that imbalances of dopamine are causing the disorder, it could be that abnormal thinking caused by the disorder affect the biochemistry of the brain
