1) The author's son Oliver is always happy, active, motivated, and finds excitement in daily activities. 2) The author learned that Oliver has naturally high baseline dopamine levels, which helps explain his constant positive mood and drive to seek out rewarding experiences. 3) Dopamine motivates people to accomplish tasks in order to feel a sense of reward, and for Oliver even mundane chores provide a feeling of accomplishment that reinforce his dopamine cycle and happy demeanor.

1. My son, Oliver, is a very happy child, I wanted to know why and how. Nature?
Nurture? I started my learning process with a neuroscience podcast on dopamine which
lead to this online neuroscience class (Huberman Lab Podcast). Oliver is always active,
highly motivated, and curious. Every day is “the greatest day ever”, no matter the
activity. I have learned Oliver’s baseline dopamine levels are elevated so life really does
feel great to him.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter released by neurons to transmit an electrical
signal to other neurons, acting like a chemical messenger from one neuron to the next
neuron, passing signals to and from the central nervous system. Dopamine is an
excitatory neurotransmitter, it communicates with brain cells and wants you to seek out
pleasurable and exiting activities. Dopamine motivates us to reach outside ourselves
looking for a “reward”. Oliver is in a continuous loop of feeling great and seeking and
accomplishing activities that he enjoys.
Oliver is a sensation seeker, loves being outdoors, nature and team sports, all
which reinforce his happy dopamine circle. Dopamine is released in expectation of a
reward. For Oliver the reward could be a baseball championship ring, a “bussin” meal he
cooked, washing his clothes, organizing his room or taking care of our chickens, any
seemingly mundane chore is met with his excitement and sense of accomplishment
when completed. He seeks out the activity and feels great when he finishes it. Dopamine
is also released when we eat food. Since Oliver’s baseline dopamine levels are high,
when his body releases more dopamine when eating , occasionally when he eats food a
vomit reflex is activated because his body cant handle the extra dopamine. I used to get
frustrated with his vomit reaction to food but now I understand the neuroscience of
dopamine. As a parent I worry that he will be a thrill seeker and make dangerous
choices to get the dopamine hits but at 13 he seems to be relatively level headed.
Fingers crossed! Hopefully nurture will help vs nature that gave him the gift of
dopamine.
Dopamine from the substancia nigra enables neurons in your brain to control and
command movement in your body. When these neurons die a person will have trouble
initiating movements, one of the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. All habit movements
require more brain power to even move an arm or leg. If the substancia nigra in a
deceased person’s brain is not black or gray the person died with Parkinson’s disease.
Humans and animals would die with no dopamine because they would have no desire
to seek food.
This class has taught me how complicated the central and peripheral nervous system are
and how very high or low dopamine levels can disrupt our life. We don’t realize there is
an issue with dopamine until the levels are off.

2. Oliver’s teacher asked me if his love of life and happiness was fake, after learning about
dopamine I could explain indeed his zest for life is honest. I see his friends, teachers and
strangers soak in his love of life and I find myself loving my life when I am with him
because happy and positive people are infectious.
Huberman Lab podcast: episode 39