You open up an internet browser, but you forget what you were going to search for or why you even started your computer. Have you ever come across these situations? The recent research on the temporary memory loss have discovered the betrayer within our body: the notorious dopamine.
Dopamine has a reputation as the “happy hormone.” It’s a neurotransmitter, a substance that conveys signals between neurons, that mediates pleasure in our brain and makes you crave for the things you love. For instance, you constantly refresh your Instagram feed or click on the next recommended video on YouTube because your brain remembers and relate those activities to pleasure. Then every time you perform those activities your brain release dopamine, which makes you feel good.
Source: Fauno (pixabay.com)
Q: Sounds good! Everyone loves pleasure and happiness! What’s the problem?
A: Humans are not supposed to feel pleasure every time. In a nutshell, dopamine acts very similar to recreational drug because it constantly tempts you and controls you to do things that provides instant gratification and crave for stronger pleasure. The problem of dopamine addiction recently arose because of the rapid technological advancement, which allows for easy access to activities that release dopamine such as social media, video games, and pornography. People have hard time focusing on their work and managing their time because they crave that dopamine shots.
Here’s a video that talks about effect of dopamine on human and possible solution to overcome addiction:
Source: TopThink (youtube.com)
In addition, the researchers from Scripps Research Institute revealed dopamine’s another dark secret. They discovered the mechanism in which the stimulation of dopamine circuit is responsible for transient forgetting, also known as temporary memory loss. In particular, the biochemical team specified a single pair of dopamine-releasing neuron, named PPL1- α2α’2, that causes the universal nuisance in our brain.
Source: Tumisu (pixabay.com)
In summary, the research taught Drosophila, the common fruit fly, to associate certain scent with unpleasant shock. However, when the subject was introduced to interfering stimuli such as a puff of air or blue light, the type of light emitted from the screens of your electronic devices, the dopamine released due to the stimuli interfered with the flies’ memory retrieval signal and the flies temporarily forgot the scent’s negative association.
Furthermore, the research found a positive correlation between the strength of the stimulus and the lasting period of memory loss. In other words, exposure to stronger stimulus, such as illicit drugs or concentrated alcohol, require more time to recover from the transient memory loss.
During the unprecedented period of pandemic, without social interactions, you probably consume more social media feeds or YouTube videos for your daily dose of dopamine. However, think of dopamine as sugar for now. Your body needs it to continue the happy life, but addiction could bring potential complications with regards to your success and health. Control your dopamine. Don’t let YouTube recommendations control you!
-Matthew Lim
