Page 7 - Unit 6 Brain Best flipbook

Dopamine

▪ Flows when you succeed. It’s the feeling ‘I got it!’

▪ Often known as the ‘reward chemical’ – it keeps us coming
back for more.

▪ It is even stronger as an anticipatory chemical – it is
released even at the thought of getting something.

▪ Dopamine levels peak in adolescence. Some neuroscientists
also believe the dopamine is ‘supercharged’ during

adolescence.

▪ It can cause young people to be impulsive: the pull of the

reward is so strong and quick that the pre-frontal cortex

does not have time to engage and act rationally.