When you anticipate a reward and it arrives, the associated behavior is more likely to occur again; however, if the expected reward does not come, dopamine levels can drop significantly.

Dopamine reward prediction error explains how not receiving a desired reward can lead to feelings of despondency, as seen when a child receives a watch instead of a million dollars, resulting in a drop below their baseline dopamine levels.

The dopamine system rewards you for achieving milestones and helps reinforce focused behaviors.

Dopamine is not just a reward molecule; it's primarily a molecule of motivation and drive, influencing our energy and likelihood to engage in habits.

The dopamine system loves surprise; when an experience exceeds expectations, dopamine levels rise significantly.

To increase dopamine release, one can practice subjective rewards through thoughts, actions, or even certain drugs, but caution is needed with substances like cocaine and methamphetamine due to their addictive nature.

Dopamine doesn't just signal pleasure; it provides a hit when something exceeds our expectations, driving us to explore and seek new experiences.

The reward pathway in the brain, particularly involving the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and nucleus accumbens, is crucial for motivating action and can lead to addiction.

Excessive dopamine release can lead to habituation, where the brain becomes less responsive to pleasure, while simultaneously increasing the perception of pain, a mechanism that can contribute to addiction.