Page 72 - The Empowerment Approach Training for the Children's Disability Team

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.