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I can remember the first time clicking onto DVC’s website, and felt a rush of excitement, but also doubt because going back to school, especially college was a scary leap for me. I got too comfortable in my day-to-day routine, but I knew that to create the life I want, going back to school is necessary. I eased myself into the first semester by taking only two classes, English and Statistics. Despite my doubt, I have skyrocketed through this semester and proved myself wrong by doing well in my classes. I pushed through the fear and came out on the other side with a new sense of happiness. There is a spark that has ignited in me and the little demon in the back of my head that would constantly feed my fear was being silenced for once.

Due to having such a positive experience starting at DVC, I actually have noticed my depression and motivation has improved. This is what leads me to my critical question: how does dopamine influence learning? I feel like my brain was rewired and technically it has been. I have learned dopamine is released by the brain by not just the “feel good” moments, but actually in less enjoyable situations as well.

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For my Special Sauce I conducted an interview with an internal medicine doctor I work with to answer the following questions (I wish I had access to psychiatrist or med student):

1. Have you noticed patterns in how dopamine issues show up in different age groups?

2. How does dopamine influence motivation in an individual?

3. How does dopamine affect the brain process of memorization?

4. Do you think social media or tech is messing with people's dopamine noticeably? Are there any myths about dopamine that your hear a lot that just aren't true?

5. Does a lack of dopamine impair an individual's ability to learn?

I was set up to interview two internal medicine doctors, but unfortunately only got the chance to interview one. The ideal person to interview for my critical question would be a psychiatrist or neurologist but I did not have access to either, so I did the best I could. The doctor I interviewed also unfortunately rushed the interview so I do not feel like I got as thorough answers that I needed. After conducting the interview I concluded, even from a doctor who does not specialize in the brain, dopamine levels affect the brain in many different ways. Excess amounts of dopamine of can cause lack of motivation in some people diagnosed with neurological disease like Parkinson’s and schizophrenia. He also said dopamine releases can affect memorization with folks who suffer from substance abuse. One quote from the doctor was “these are really interesting questions and I wish I could give you more complex answers but I have not read all the research specifically pertaining to some of your questions”, which is disappointing but he still gave me some interesting information which are that facts I stated above.

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I took the time to draw a picture of a brain holding up a weight because to me dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is powerful because it helps us with motivation, and motivation gives us more incentive to learn. I created this by going on to YouTube and searching for brain drawing tutorials and drew it with pencil first the traced with pen, and colored in with marker! I did the best I could, and actually had a lot of fun creating the drawing. I feel like I did a pretty good job at drawing a brain for a person who never draws anything but stick figures.

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I really like how this image shows the molecule structure for dopamine and the brain is lit up which to me shows the power of dopamine in the brain.

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This image caught my eye because this how I picture the brain when we get a release of dopamine, and what dopamine looks like feeding other neurotransmitters.

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I chose this image because it is a true reflection of what our society deems to be their "happiness".

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I really like this image because it shows how complex the brain is, and dopamine interacts with some of these other neurotransmitters to regulate various functions, especially serotonin and norepinephrine.

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To me, the guy is a little worry wort (a person who worries excessively), and the dopamine is crushing that fear out of the worry wort OR the little dude is scared and dopamine is providing support to help with the fear.