CBD Effects on Dopamine

Before we talk about how CBD affects systems in your body, we must answer one important question: What is CBD? Cannabidiol, better known as CBD, is a chemical compound present in the cannabis Sativa plant. It is the second most common compound in this plant, just below tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. But unlike THC, CBD does not cause a euphoric high, because it does not have any intoxicating properties. For this reason, many people turn to CBD for help managing symptoms of conditions such as anxiety, chronic pain, and insomnia, to mention just a few. Many find relief because, even though consuming CBD doesn’t trigger psychoactive reactions, it does make other reactions occur within your body and brain. Want to learn more? This blog will educate you on the effects of CBD on dopamine. But first, we’ll explain more about dopamine to help you understand its relationship with CBD.  

What Is Dopamine?

You might have heard the word dopamine being thrown around casually, but what is it, exactly? Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is associated with pleasure and reward. It’s a chemical messenger that your brain makes, releasing it when you expect a reward in pleasurable situations.

Here’s the really neat part: when you associate a particular activity with pleasure and happiness, just anticipating that activity is enough to raise dopamine levels in your body. It could be sex, food, shopping, or even watching a favorite TV show. That’s why dopamine is also called the ‘reward chemical’ because it’s involved in your body’s pleasure-reward system. It’s even referred to as the motivation molecule since it gives you the drive and the focus you need to increase productivity.

Other Functions of Dopamine

Aside from its “feel good” function, dopamine plays other roles in the human body. It is involved in blood flow and blood vessel functioning; pain processing; motor control; digestion; heart and kidney function; mood regulation; and your emotions.

It doesn’t stop there: dopamine also affects your memory and focus; sleep; stress response; executive functioning; lactation; movement; pancreatic function; insulin regulation; and control of nausea and vomiting.

Dopamine also plays a role in mental health. Having too little or too much dopamine in different parts of your brain is associated with various forms of mental illness.

What Is Dopamine Deficiency?

By itself, dopamine deficiency is not a medical diagnosis. It is a hereditary condition and a genetic disorder that can be passed down through your genetics. Do you feel like you have no interest in life when you wake up every morning? You might be suffering from dopamine deficiency.

Dopamine levels can affect your mental well-being in so many ways. Sadly, it is impossible to measure the levels of dopamine in your brains. However, you can develop this condition through any of the following mechanisms: if dopamine is broken down too quickly; if you have too few or damaged dopamine receptors; or if your body produces inadequate dopamine levels, or circulates the dopamine inadequately. Now that you’re familiar with dopamine deficiency, here’s a look at its potential causes.

Causes of Dopamine Deficiency

Dopamine deficiency is linked to various mental conditions. Scientists have recently discovered that health imbalance, neurological conditions, and intentional substance abuse are all causes of dopamine deficiency. The most prevalent causes of dopamine deficiency are:

Depression

If you think about it logically, dopamine deficiency could cause depression, but the reverse is also true. Depression causes a dip in dopamine levels in your brain. How is this possible, you may ask? A recent discovery by scientists shows that the neurotransmitters produced and spread all over your body are interconnected. If one or many neurotransmitters fall below their critical threshold, the whole network is impacted. Although the dopamine reward system induces physical pleasure, depletion, or disruption of norepinephrine and serotonin may cause wrong signals to be sent to the reward system that produces dopamine.

Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease falls under the category of conditions referred to as Motor System Disorders. It is related to the central nervous system, affecting your movement. Since the condition affects balance and coordination, it leads to stiffness, shaking, and difficulties walking. Sadly, as the degenerative disorder progresses, it affects the neurons that process and produce dopamine; eventually, it kills them. Parkinson’s disease, therefore, causes dopamine deficiency by destroying your brain’s ability to produce and transmit dopamine.

Drug and substance abuse

Thanks to dopamine, humans can form memories of pleasurable experiences. With the help of these formed memories, we can repeat pleasurable experiences in the future.

The release of dopamine is also stimulated by alcohol and drugs, and a memory of the sensation is then formed. The cause of addiction usually is this remembered pleasure, rather than the actual substance dependence. The more often you abuse drugs and other substances, the more unstable your dopamine reward system becomes. Consequently, the dopamine reward system may stop functioning.

Other causes of dopamine deficiency are schizophrenia, stress, obesity, and even an unhealthy diet.

Symptoms of Dopamine Deficiency 

Signs of insufficient dopamine levels in your body include: 

• Depression
• Rapid weight gain
• Low sex drive
• Procrastination
• Restless leg syndrome
• Constipation
• Muscle spasms
• Sleep disorders
• Muscle cramps
• Issues with memory
• Muscle stiffness