“The molecule of more”: a dopamine rush of a book

Why do cheaters cheat? Why do you get bored of that new car you desired for so long? Why are addicts ‘trapped’ by their disease? What decides your political beliefs? The answer to all these questions is a single molecule: dopamine, the molecule of motivation. Georgetown Washington University professors Daniel Z. Lieberman and Michael E. Long explain this extensively in their book: The molecule of more (2018).

This fascinating book explains how dopamine in the brain has an influence on our daily lives and how altered dopamine functioning can have devastating effects. Unexpected connections are made between the effect of dopamine and everything from addiction to geniuses, from love to madness. This is all explained at the hands of relatable everyday situations, which makes it an easy read, for all interested. These examples also help you understand more about why you make certain decisions, while you might not even be aware of it. You can learn more about yourself. Actor and comedian Thomas F. Wilson is one of those who experienced this: “I’ve worked as an artist for 40 years, and the question ‘why am I like this?’ has been a mystery. Lieberman and Long have created a roadmap for all those wrestling between insatiable longing and the here and now.”

Personally, as a Master’s student in Neuroscience & Cognition, I was still amazed by the number of effects dopamine has on our behaviour. What surprised me the most was the connection the authors made with political ideology. Lieberman and Long claim that the amount of dopamine in your brain partly influences whether you tend to be liberal or conservative.

Unexpected connections are made between the effect of dopamine and everything from addiction to geniuses, from love to madness.

Another aspect discussed in this book could also give you new perspectives on how you perceive others. For example, you learn how addicts are ‘trapped’ by drugs, gambling, or even porn. Drugs, or addictive activities, elevate dopamine, which encodes the salience, or value for survival in the future, of objects or actions. “After a while, the brain becomes convinced that drugs are the answer to all aspects in life”, as is stated in the book. Addicts, often looked down on as weak people, are deceived by their brain. They want to stop, but their dopamine system tricks them, making it so much harder to stop.

The topics written above are only a fraction of the book. The writers lay out the impressive wide-ranging effects of dopamine with lucid metaphors. The book is easy to read for both the lay public and experts in the field. Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive and when (2009), summed up the experience of reading this book perfectly, quoting: “A riveting read. Once you understand the power and peril of dopamine, you’ll better understand the human condition itself.”