Q. Is it true that all of our pleasures, whether they're from drugs, sex, drinking, winning competitions, or meditation, are driven by the same neurochemistry system? How is that possible?
G. A recent paper by Patricia Sharp, of the Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior @ Bowling Green University, "Meditation-induced bliss viewed as release from conditioned neural (thought) patterns that block reward signals in the brain pleasure center" in Religion, Brain and Behavior (RBB), gives some insight into what neurochemical mechanisms generate the pleasure we feel in many experiences. we looked @ Patricia's earlier work in the post "How does meditation 'work'? A new neuroscientific model".
Research demonstrates that virtually the same neurochemical mechanisms operate to generate "pleasure" in sex, drugs, drinking, getting money, winning competitions or meditation, etc...basically any pleasure. (See the blogpost "Smoking, cocaine, alcohol, food addictions...meditation works for all of them?")
This paper focuses on the consequences of repeated rewards and the craving and decreased pleasure which ultimately arises. The key regions in this pleasure system are the nucleus accumbens and centers linked to it.
In the diagram at left, w/the head facing to the left, NAc is the nucleus accumbens. The hippocampus is the memory center; the amygdala (BLA) is "processing central" for emotional reactions and memory. The VTA, ventral tegmental area, is where the cells originate that are sent to the NAc to produce dopamine. The medial prefrontal cortex is for planning complex cognitive behavior, personality expression, moderating social behavior and decision making.
The mPFC and the hippocampus region are part of the default mode network, core elements of the "selfing" network, discussed in many blogposts. (See "Can you stop your 'blah, blah' thoughts?", and "What is the Default Mode Network?")
As you can see in the diagram, these centers all "talk" to the NAc.
Research on addiction and drug use showed that cocaine, heroin, nicotine and alcohol all produce increased levels of dopamine from the nucleus accumbens, which reinforces and stimulates further addictive behaviors. fMRI studies on humans have shown that environmental cues related to these behaviors, i.e., where/when/with whom/how we did them, paraphernalia, preparations, etc., releases more dopamine, further reinforcing the behavior.
Other studies have shown that the NAc also generates dopamine "rewards" for food and sex. Pleasant, emotionally-arousing pictures and mental images involve dopamine. The NAc is even involved in regulating/producing emotions from music and in rhythmic timing. Dopamine drives many buses.
Some neurons in the nucleus accumbens also produce opiods - our own, private, poppy field. (Gerfen, C.R., 1992) This blend of dopamine and opiods produces the "feel" of our pleasures. Drug-induced euphoria is sometimes described as being similar to orgasm, and it is...they use the same chemicals.
So what about our meditation??? Well, studies done on dopamine levels during meditation (Kjaer, et al., "Increased dopamine tone during meditation-induced change in consciousness", 2002) demonstrated that "advanced practitioners experience a large increase (65%) in dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens during meditative states."
But here is where the pleasure systems diverge...meditation does not suffer from the all-too-familiar, "down-regulation" of pleasure experienced w/sex, drugs, rock&roll, money, food, etc. This reduction in the level of pleasure from the same rewards w/repeated exposures leads to a "tolerance" for the "euphoric" effect. Just when the party really gets "goin', the nucleus accumbens and friends in dark suits take away the punch bowl.
Many drug-tolerance effects arise from the "environmental cues" mentioned earlier. Studies by Hyman, et al. "Neural mechanisms of addiction: The role of reward-related learning and memory", (2006), showed that when repeated injections of morphine were paired with a familiar cue, greater "tolerance", i.e. loss of pleasure, occurred than w/o cues.
As reported in Richard Doyle's recent "Darwin's Pharmacy: Sex, Plants and the Evolution of the Noosphere", if Amazonian shamans don't have any "bark" available, they can still produce an ayahuasca experience (in experienced practitioners) just by singing/chanting the "icaro" that is an integral part of the traditional ceremony. (Rich and i are in many youTube "Dialogues on Awakening", and he wrote the foreword to "Dancing Beyond Thought".)
Interestingly, the same "down-regulation" of pleasure w/repeated exposure w/dopamine suppression accompanies "worldly rewards". (Schultz, "Predicted reward signal of dopamine neurons.", 1998)
The Kjaer (2002) study on long-term meditative practitioners suggests that dopamine release remains intact, and may even increase, with repeated practice.
But how does "release from conditioned neural thought patterns" produce "meditation-induced bliss" as Patricia's paper suggests. The concept is that our "repetitive, compulsive thought patterns" (self-referential internal narrative - SRIN) may itself be an addictive behavior, with its own dopamine-driven pleasure cycle. It too, w/repetitive, predictable rewards (as it goes on endlessly) results in "down-regulation" of dopamine, and decreased pleasure.
As the Hyman (2006) work showed, "cues" around "worldly rewards" and "repetitive compulsive thought patterns", accelerate the suppression of dopamine-induced subjective pleasure. As SRIN is a constant part of most folks' daily life, it likely causes continuous suppression of activity in the NAc.
we find ourselves on the "hedonic treadmill", seeing that our happiness does not increase, even w/more money, fame, power, toys, etc. As Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman (See blogpost "Experiencing self vs remembering self...") found, beyond having enough money to comfortably meet one's needs, there is NO increase in happiness with increasing income.
Patricia's work details how "reward learning" occurs and preferentially strengthens, as predicted by Hebbian-theory ("neurons that fire together, wire together"), certain neural networks for addictive behaviors including "habitual thought patterns".
Patricia's work in 2011, covered in the blogpost "How does meditation "work"?...a new neuroscientific model", describes how meditative practices "gently undo some of these learned patterns". This work focuses on Buddhist meditators w/high levels of EEG synchonization in "meditative absorption", which she postulates will gradually disrupt these networks by swamping them.
Releasing these Hebbianly-strengthened "habitual thought pattern" networks (constructed in pleasure-suppressing ways), results in pleasure as the dopamine flows again.
As discussed above, NAc cells respond to "novelty" for their activation (Schultz, W. 1998). Any "novel" stimuli will induce dopamine release. Many meditative states produce "extreme novelty" in cortical firing patterns so existing "repetitive" networks are not activated and then weaken. Dopamine is no longer "down regulated".
The editors @ RBB, asked several folk, including "me", for "Comments" to which Patricia would respond. Katherine MacLean, then @ Johns Hopkins, recently in Nepal, worked w/me. my contribution was noting that "self-inquiry" was not included in the techniques evaluated to release "conditioned neural (thought) patterns".
This is important, as Buddhist practices in some sects do not focus on "no thoughts", and self-inquiry is a broadly-demonstrated and effective approach to do so. Nondual self-inquiry actively deconstructs these "conditioned" networks, rather than just waiting for them to dissemble.
This understanding can be extended to show how nondual self-inqury awakening manifests. As the heavily-conditioned "I" networks are deconstructed, attachment-by-attachment, this is reinforced by dopamine/opiod pleasure. As the brain greatly prefers "now, now, now"/Stillness to "blah, blah, blah"/anxiety, stress, confusion, etc., the brain takes over and drives the "bus to Stillness" w/increasingly higher levels of dopamine/opiods.
As persistent nonduality has been shown to result in a persistent "psychedelic/mystical" state (See blogpost "Seeing everything as "One"? What is mystical?...the science"), there is ongoing great "novelty", so the NAc pumps out dopamine/opiods basically continuously to maintain this state.
This blissful, persistent nondual state becomes so "locked in", that it is hard to create a "doer", and life unfolds naturally, sweetly, all by itself. As Ramana Maharshi said "It will become difficult to even manifest (self-referential" thought."
The folk @ Taylor and Francis, who published this article in RBB, have told me that the FIRST 50 folk who click on the link http://www.tandfonline.com/
The "cueing" mentioned earlier is also useful in daily practice. i always take a yoga mat w/me wherever i go. As soon as i spread it out for practice, it automatically cues "meditation/yoga" states. It is amazingly powerful at setting up the dopamine/opiod reinforcement cycle.
G. A recent paper by Patricia Sharp, of the Center for Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior @ Bowling Green University, "Meditation-induced bliss viewed as release from conditioned neural (thought) patterns that block reward signals in the brain pleasure center" in Religion, Brain and Behavior (RBB), gives some insight into what neurochemical mechanisms generate the pleasure we feel in many experiences. we looked @ Patricia's earlier work in the post "How does meditation 'work'? A new neuroscientific model".
Research demonstrates that virtually the same neurochemical mechanisms operate to generate "pleasure" in sex, drugs, drinking, getting money, winning competitions or meditation, etc...basically any pleasure. (See the blogpost "Smoking, cocaine, alcohol, food addictions...meditation works for all of them?")
This paper focuses on the consequences of repeated rewards and the craving and decreased pleasure which ultimately arises. The key regions in this pleasure system are the nucleus accumbens and centers linked to it.
 |
| NAc - nucleus accumbens BLA - amygdala VTA - ventral tegmental area mPFC - medial prefrontal cortex |
In the diagram at left, w/the head facing to the left, NAc is the nucleus accumbens. The hippocampus is the memory center; the amygdala (BLA) is "processing central" for emotional reactions and memory. The VTA, ventral tegmental area, is where the cells originate that are sent to the NAc to produce dopamine. The medial prefrontal cortex is for planning complex cognitive behavior, personality expression, moderating social behavior and decision making.
The mPFC and the hippocampus region are part of the default mode network, core elements of the "selfing" network, discussed in many blogposts. (See "Can you stop your 'blah, blah' thoughts?", and "What is the Default Mode Network?")
As you can see in the diagram, these centers all "talk" to the NAc.
 |
| Drug Paraphernalia |
Research on addiction and drug use showed that cocaine, heroin, nicotine and alcohol all produce increased levels of dopamine from the nucleus accumbens, which reinforces and stimulates further addictive behaviors. fMRI studies on humans have shown that environmental cues related to these behaviors, i.e., where/when/with whom/how we did them, paraphernalia, preparations, etc., releases more dopamine, further reinforcing the behavior.
Other studies have shown that the NAc also generates dopamine "rewards" for food and sex. Pleasant, emotionally-arousing pictures and mental images involve dopamine. The NAc is even involved in regulating/producing emotions from music and in rhythmic timing. Dopamine drives many buses.
Some neurons in the nucleus accumbens also produce opiods - our own, private, poppy field. (Gerfen, C.R., 1992) This blend of dopamine and opiods produces the "feel" of our pleasures. Drug-induced euphoria is sometimes described as being similar to orgasm, and it is...they use the same chemicals.So what about our meditation??? Well, studies done on dopamine levels during meditation (Kjaer, et al., "Increased dopamine tone during meditation-induced change in consciousness", 2002) demonstrated that "advanced practitioners experience a large increase (65%) in dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens during meditative states."
But here is where the pleasure systems diverge...meditation does not suffer from the all-too-familiar, "down-regulation" of pleasure experienced w/sex, drugs, rock&roll, money, food, etc. This reduction in the level of pleasure from the same rewards w/repeated exposures leads to a "tolerance" for the "euphoric" effect. Just when the party really gets "goin', the nucleus accumbens and friends in dark suits take away the punch bowl. Many drug-tolerance effects arise from the "environmental cues" mentioned earlier. Studies by Hyman, et al. "Neural mechanisms of addiction: The role of reward-related learning and memory", (2006), showed that when repeated injections of morphine were paired with a familiar cue, greater "tolerance", i.e. loss of pleasure, occurred than w/o cues.
Interestingly, the same "down-regulation" of pleasure w/repeated exposure w/dopamine suppression accompanies "worldly rewards". (Schultz, "Predicted reward signal of dopamine neurons.", 1998)
The Kjaer (2002) study on long-term meditative practitioners suggests that dopamine release remains intact, and may even increase, with repeated practice.
But how does "release from conditioned neural thought patterns" produce "meditation-induced bliss" as Patricia's paper suggests. The concept is that our "repetitive, compulsive thought patterns" (self-referential internal narrative - SRIN) may itself be an addictive behavior, with its own dopamine-driven pleasure cycle. It too, w/repetitive, predictable rewards (as it goes on endlessly) results in "down-regulation" of dopamine, and decreased pleasure.
As the Hyman (2006) work showed, "cues" around "worldly rewards" and "repetitive compulsive thought patterns", accelerate the suppression of dopamine-induced subjective pleasure. As SRIN is a constant part of most folks' daily life, it likely causes continuous suppression of activity in the NAc.
 |
| Hedonic treadmill |
we find ourselves on the "hedonic treadmill", seeing that our happiness does not increase, even w/more money, fame, power, toys, etc. As Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman (See blogpost "Experiencing self vs remembering self...") found, beyond having enough money to comfortably meet one's needs, there is NO increase in happiness with increasing income.
Patricia's work details how "reward learning" occurs and preferentially strengthens, as predicted by Hebbian-theory ("neurons that fire together, wire together"), certain neural networks for addictive behaviors including "habitual thought patterns".
Patricia's work in 2011, covered in the blogpost "How does meditation "work"?...a new neuroscientific model", describes how meditative practices "gently undo some of these learned patterns". This work focuses on Buddhist meditators w/high levels of EEG synchonization in "meditative absorption", which she postulates will gradually disrupt these networks by swamping them.
Releasing these Hebbianly-strengthened "habitual thought pattern" networks (constructed in pleasure-suppressing ways), results in pleasure as the dopamine flows again.
As discussed above, NAc cells respond to "novelty" for their activation (Schultz, W. 1998). Any "novel" stimuli will induce dopamine release. Many meditative states produce "extreme novelty" in cortical firing patterns so existing "repetitive" networks are not activated and then weaken. Dopamine is no longer "down regulated".
The editors @ RBB, asked several folk, including "me", for "Comments" to which Patricia would respond. Katherine MacLean, then @ Johns Hopkins, recently in Nepal, worked w/me. my contribution was noting that "self-inquiry" was not included in the techniques evaluated to release "conditioned neural (thought) patterns".
 |
| Deconstructing w/self-inquiry |
This is important, as Buddhist practices in some sects do not focus on "no thoughts", and self-inquiry is a broadly-demonstrated and effective approach to do so. Nondual self-inquiry actively deconstructs these "conditioned" networks, rather than just waiting for them to dissemble.
This understanding can be extended to show how nondual self-inqury awakening manifests. As the heavily-conditioned "I" networks are deconstructed, attachment-by-attachment, this is reinforced by dopamine/opiod pleasure. As the brain greatly prefers "now, now, now"/Stillness to "blah, blah, blah"/anxiety, stress, confusion, etc., the brain takes over and drives the "bus to Stillness" w/increasingly higher levels of dopamine/opiods.
 |
| Ramana Maharshi |
As persistent nonduality has been shown to result in a persistent "psychedelic/mystical" state (See blogpost "Seeing everything as "One"? What is mystical?...the science"), there is ongoing great "novelty", so the NAc pumps out dopamine/opiods basically continuously to maintain this state.
This blissful, persistent nondual state becomes so "locked in", that it is hard to create a "doer", and life unfolds naturally, sweetly, all by itself. As Ramana Maharshi said "It will become difficult to even manifest (self-referential" thought."
The folk @ Taylor and Francis, who published this article in RBB, have told me that the FIRST 50 folk who click on the link http://www.tandfonline.com/
 |
| Drug Paraphernalia |
The "cueing" mentioned earlier is also useful in daily practice. i always take a yoga mat w/me wherever i go. As soon as i spread it out for practice, it automatically cues "meditation/yoga" states. It is amazingly powerful at setting up the dopamine/opiod reinforcement cycle.
That was a great article. Self-inquiry was leaving me flat but less anxious for a bit but hsd recently 'opened up' more to be more expansive
ReplyDeleteI think the short hand and excessive use of air quotes made this difficult to read and understand. Are you saying mindfulness meditation, where you try to clear your thoughts, results in sustained dopamine release rather than building up a tolerance?
ReplyDeleteThe post was saying that with self-inquiry and the deconstruction of the 'I', which does not happen w/mindfulness meditation, that there is sustained dopamine release rather than the typical building up of a tolerance.
DeleteSelf-inquiry can produce a state of persistent nonduality that lasts for most of some folks' lives and it maintains a great sweetness apparently through some continuous mechanism of dopamine and endogenous opioid release.
stillness
'Drug paraphernalia' next to the yoga mat hahaha..
ReplyDeleteThe part about 'cueing' for meditation practice is something i have been missing.. would something like sitting in a specific position for meditation be enough to benefit from cueing? or would i be better off separating it even more from regular sitting around by making sure i always use a stool or mat?
Thanks
Yes, it is surprising how important it is to have a spot, a memory tag(s), that the brain recognizes as its meditation space, so that it feels "comfortable", relaxes and codes in the routines for the meditation practice.
DeleteIf you can always use the same mat, sitting cushion or stool, have a few icons or pictures (if you are so inclined) present, always set up in the same way each time you meditate, the brain will quickly move into a meditative state.
As i travel a lot, always carrying the same yoga mat, the brain knows when it sees that mat, that meditation and yoga will be done here, and now, and relaxes into that routine, whether it is Hong Kong, south India, Budapest, the Netherlands, or near Philadelphia and whatever else the surroundings are.
The more cues you provide for the brain, and the more consistent they are, the stronger the support and inclination will be for the meditation/yoga which will follow.
Trust this is useful.
stillness
gary
Great article! It is very motivating to push through and replace the old habits with this one ;-)
ReplyDeleteHi bart. Great that you found it useful. Realizing that the body turns old habitual pleasures into addictions, and how it actually does it, makes letting go of, or replacing them much easier. stillness
DeleteDrug Paraphernalia! LOL! Good one.
ReplyDeleteI found this while trying to satiate my curiosity as to why nondual awareness is causing bliss.
ReplyDelete"As SRIN is a constant part of most folks' daily life, it likely causes continuous suppression of activity in the NAc"
Huh, so bliss is not caused it's just our natural state. SRIN just gets in the way and causes a "down-regulation" of the natural blissful state.
Yes, that's what happens...SRIN is the "problem".
DeleteSuggest you look at the Default Mode Network blogposts...a key one is "Three Neural Networks Dancing -'blah, blah, tasking and control" to get a broader perspective on how the brain operates with SRIN/'blah, blah'.
Trust this is useful.
stillness