Send to a Friend

Esedess's avatar

Can you consciously trigger dopamine release?

Asked by Esedess (3467points) April 28th, 2015

…at least that’s what I assume it is.

The sensation of “chills” or “tingling” that originates from the back of your head/neck and travels down your spine and forearms.

Strangely (or perhaps not), I’ve had conscious control of this sensation for as long as I can remember. Only somewhat recently have I given it any thought. One thing I do notice is that if I do it in rapid succession, the sensation lessens each time until eventually I feel the “click” or “trigger” without the resulting flow of tingles. Like a car trying to burn gas that isn’t there.
Then I can wait a few seconds to a minute and the sensation will be back to its normal potency the next go.

This experience of it, a drain-able commodity that refills quickly, is what led me to assume it was a chemical release. However, it also begs the question of if I’m in constant low supply due to my conscious/unnecessary use of it. Furthermore, I’ve yet to find a productive function for it and I haven’t particularly noticed it improving my mood when I do it.
I’m curious if any others have control of this sensation, and if so, what your take on it is and/or if you’ve found a use for it.

Using Fluther

or

Using Email

Separate multiple emails with commas.
We’ll only use these emails for this message.