Dopamine is associated with motivation and salience. It is instrumental in all of our biological drives. For example, pair bonding registers as rewarding in part because of dopamine.

Dopamine powerfully influences mood, perception and priorities via the brain’s reward system. So, if it’s too high or too low, we can feel a bit manic, or the reverse.

The eerie thing about dopamine is that if it’s chronically too high, the brain self-regulates by decreasing receptors for it, which can interfere with our sensitivity to pleasure. We can either wait for our brain to return to homeostasis, or force the production of more dopamine with “hotter” stimuli. The latter can further slow the brain’s return to normal pleasure sensitivity, perhaps even throwing us into a downward spiral of dissatisfaction, or even cravings.

Many of the post-climax neurochemical events listed on this site have an impact on dopamine among their effects on limbic tone. These subtle, but very real, brain changes occur without conscious awareness. The easiest way to become aware of them is by contrasting how we feel when engaged in excessive stimulation with how we feel when engaged in practices that improve limbic tone, such as meditation, exercise, Synergy, healthy diet, etc.

Managing sex carefully may be a way to keep dopamine signalling balanced, such that our normal sensitivity to everyday pleasures is protected. This may help explain how Synergy can have unexpected beneficial effects on partnership contentment, cognition, depression, social anxiety, and even easing addiction.

Dopamine and sexual behavior Dopamine and mood, cognition, cravings and perception