Causes of low dopamine
Low dopamine is caused by several conditions and stimuli. Most common of the causes related to Low Dopamine levels are as follows:
Stress
One of the causes for Dopamine Deficiency is stress. Studies have been conducted on the effects of acute stress on dopamine nerve activities. Dopamine synthesis and its secretion by brain is decreased by acute stress. Stress also results in depleting adrenals.
Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome
One of the causes for dopamine deficiency includes alcohol withdrawal. Continuous use of alcohol in daily life results in impairment of dopamine levels in brain. When a person becomes addicted to alcohol, the brain areas producing dopamine are depleted. Person in such cases have to continue use of alcohol to feel pleasures of everyday life. Otherwise they develop Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome.
Obesity
Obesity itself is a critical health condition on its own but may also lead to dopamine deficiency. Brookhaven National Laboratory conducted experiments on obese people and found that they have low dopamine levels. This was because of fewer number of dopamine receptors.
Unhealthy nutrition
Unhealthy nutrition also results in dopamine deficiency. This cause was investigated by researchers at Franklin Institute. They published a report that intake of unhealthy nutritional products like caffeine, alcohol, and sugar causes dopamine deficiency in brain. The treatment for it is to include fresh fruits and vegetables in your daily diet as they are antioxidants. They prevent dopamine using brain cells from damage.
Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s disease is a condition in which patients suffers with symptoms like tremors, muscular paralysis, reduced movement and difficulty in initiating any movement. Researchers have found that Parkinson’s disease and dementia are the result of dopamine deficiency in the body. These disorders usually lead to the destruction of dopamine secreting neurons.
Restless leg syndrome disorder
Patients with restless leg syndrome jerk their legs during sleep. This syndrome is considered to be the result of low dopamine levels in brain. This syndrome along with dopamine deficiency leads to disorders like social phobia and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder. The jerks during restless leg syndrome are caused by sudden increase of heart rate and blood pressure. This also leads to cardiovascular diseases.
Creativeness
One of the most unfathomable causes of dopamine deficiency includes the high creativeness. People who are highly creative often suffer from low dopamine levels in their brains. Although they produce high dopamine levels yet they lack dopamine D2 receptors in their thalamus. Because of this particular reason their brains resembles to that of a Schizophrenic. Schizophrenic also suffer from low density of D2 receptors in thalamus. This low level of D2 receptors affects the patient’s ability to filter out information. The low density of D2 receptors causes more information to come from thalamus which enables creative people to see connections that normal people cannot. It may be a gift in problem solving conditions but can be dangerous as the patient can misinterpret intentions of other people.
Use of drugs
Drug also cause dopamine deficiency. Common street drugs which are easily available are one of the most common causes for it. Meperidine, a street drug containing a toxic chemical MPTP (1- methyl- 4- phenyl- 1236- tetrahydropyridine), causes the dopamine neurons breakdown and low dopamine levels. Cocaine, Amphetamine and other such drugs used for the treatment of narcolepsy increase dopamine levels. Cocaine prevents the breakdown of dopamine. Continued use of these drugs, however, result in the reduction of number of dopamine receptors. The continued use of these dugs causes desensitization i.e. the user develops tolerance and needs more dosage for same results.
Others
Other factors responsible for dopamine levels to decrease are as follows:
Lack of sleep
Hypothyroidism
Exposure to lead, arsenic and cadmium
Tyrosine deficiency
Deficiency of magnesium, zinc, iron and vitamin B3, B6, C and D.
Genetic problem of dopamine receptors
Insufficient adrenals
Influenza
Estrogen
Deficiency of Human growth hormone
Signs and symptoms of low dopamine
Symptoms of low dopamine can easily be diagnosed. When dopamine levels are low due to afore mentioned causes then the person experiences the following signs and symptoms.
Chronic Depression and Fatigue
The most important symptom of low dopamine level is Dopamine Deficient Depression (DDD). Conditions associated with DDD include the:
Chronic boredom
Lack of satisfactory feeling
Fatigue
Decrease in physical energy
Undesirability for exercise
This causes the body to feel chills and also feet and hands become cold for no reason. Dopamine deficiency causes mood swings from positive to negative. In this depressed state due to dopamine deficiency, people tend to compensate depressed and low mood with cravings for stimulants. Common stimulants include alcohol, street drugs and caffeine to which patient become addicted. Severe case of dopamine deficient depressed person may develop suicidal tendencies.
Restless Leg Syndrome
Dopamine is responsible for the control of nerve signals involved in the control of movement of parts of human body. Decrease in levels of dopamine may be one of the causes of RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome), which is described as uncomfortable (itchy, pins and needles or creepy crawly) feeling in the legs. The sensations are usually worse at rest, especially when lying or sitting. Because of this very reason people suffering from low dopamine levels mostly show the symptoms of Restless Leg Syndrome.
Excess sleep and lessened libido
Oversleeping is one of the most important symptoms of low dopamine levels. This is caused due to the deficiency of nutrients like zinc, magnesium and iron, which in turn causes dopamine deficiency. Along with excess sleep, the person shows lack of motivation i.e. they do not take initiative for any activity. Such people are always heralded by negative thoughts and they believe that they will never be able to accomplish anything in life. Other symptoms include dullness of pleasure or being unable to feel any pleasure at all and also lessened libido i.e. one’s feeling for sexual drive.
Sudden weight gain
One of the most visible symptoms of low dopamine level include sudden weight gain. Dopamine deficiency causes cravings for the following types of foods.
Sugar
Sodas
Alcohol
Saturated fats
As low dopamine levels encourage inactivity of body movements and fatigue that is why the intake of these food groups results in sudden weight gain. These dietary products not only increase one’s weight but also decrease dopamine levels and their activity in brain - this is a two way process.
Mental distractibility
As dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps in improving mental function and concentration that is why a slight change in dopamine levels result in one’s ability to concentrate and focus on daily life work. This neurotransmitter keeps the emotions in check and when dopamine levels reduce, a person gets intense feeling of sadness. This causes impairment in patient’s memory and thinking.
Parkinson’s disease
Research conducted at the University of Maryland Medical Center on Parkinson’s disease showed that it is in association with low dopamine levels. Parkinson’s disease is a neurological disorder affecting balance, movement and control of muscle movements. Furthermore, research has shown that deficiency of dopamine in Corpus Stratia of brain is responsible for disease and also the disease’s main feature. The disease can be treated in its early stages with the use of dopamine drug called Levadopa that helps in restoring dopamine levels. This treatment can become addictive and lose its effectiveness over long period of time.
Others
Some of the other common symptoms for low dopamine levels include:
Lessened eye contact
To become solution orientated and not looking the whole picture of situation
Inability to present or focus
Tend to become more cruel
Aggression
Zoning out in front of TV or computer
Less interest in relationship
Becoming socially withdrawn
Becoming apathetic
Low sexual interests
Diagnosis for low dopamine
Diagnosis for low dopamine levels is not very efficient. Only efficient way to diagnose the level of low dopamine in your body is to carefully monitor your symptoms. The most common diagnostic approach exercised by physicians is as follows.
Firstly, the patient has to monitor his own behavior and symptoms. If he experiences any of the aforementioned symptoms then he should consult with their doctor.
The doctor after making an appointment will firstly try to resolve the problem with early short term and easy treatments.
If the symptoms prevail, the patient should share his concern with his doctor. In such case, there are two main lab tests for diagnosing dopamine levels that are.
Blood test
Urine test
If the dopamine levels are abnormally low then patient has to make repeated visits to their doctor. Doctor then prescribes treatment including diet programs and medications based on patient’s history.