So let's think about dopamine peaks and baselines . And let's remember that for every peak there's a trough .
When you have a mountain , you have the bottom of the mountain . When we think about dopamine peaks and dopamine baselines , we have to include that trough because that trough , that is the level of dopamine below baseline really dictates whether or not you are going to feel motivated to pursue something or not . So I'm gonna give you a visual in your mind .
So if you take what you actually got minus what you expected , that's reward prediction error . So if the sandwich is basically what I expected to get fine , dopamine comes down basically to a baseline level . That's pretty standard for me and is basically the baseline level I had before I ever thought about the sandwich at all .
So all of this might seem a little bit complicated , but it's all very simple desire for things increases dopamine . But then our level of dopamine drops below baseline and it's that drop below baseline that triggers the motivation to bring that dopamine level back up by going and pursuing the thing that you wanted in the first place . Now , of course , as this is happening , you're not conscious of your dopamine levels , you experience this as context dependent craving and pursuit because remember the prefrontal cortex is involved in context setting and craving and pursuit because it relates to action and movement , which is one of the general features of the dopamine system .
When I'm thirsty , there's an increase in dopamine that we could call a little mini peak in dopamine . But then here's the key thing very soon after I realized my desire for something that peak that was caused by the desire comes down and drops below baseline below the level of dopamine that it was prior to even thinking about the sandwich or the coffee or the glass of water . And it's that drop below baseline that triggers my desire to go out and find that sandwich , that coffee , that water or that blank insert , whatever it is that you happen to desire action or substance of any kind or person , et cetera .
