Too many daily demands can give a person anything from insomnia to indigestion to depression. The nervous system is almost solely credited with this task. The complex interaction system between billions of individual neurons facilitates large number of behaviors that result due to inputs originating inside and outside the organism. Spaces between neighboring neurons are called synapses, and one way in which they communicate is by sending chemical signals called neurotransmitters across the presynaptic membrane to the postsynaptic membrane. The functions of dopamine are numerous, but in general it inhibits transmission of nerve impulses.
Many chronic diseases result from the overproduction or underproduction of dopamine.
Now that the extreme abnormalities of dopamine have been discussed, let s look at how dopamine affects the average person who is subjected to a stressful environment. One study maintains that the chewing behavior of mice is a response to stress, and therefore it serves as a coping device. Another study also confirms the conclusion of the aforementioned study. This study suggests that if an organism is exposed to external stress, dopamine levels will rise to help cope with this additional stress, and thus an organism s survival and reproductive success is ensured due to its ability to withstand stress. This brain protein normally cleans up dopamine that has already excited brain cells.