How Dopamine affects the brain can be a key to improving our lives

How Dopamine affects the brain can be a key to improving our lives

From Creative Mind Audio by Douglas Eby

January 7, 2026 · 3 min

About this episode

Dr. Anna Lembke discusses the impact of dopamine on motivation and happiness in our lives.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thecreativemind.substack.com “We live in a world that’s designed to hijack your dopamine. We’re scrolling, sending another text, looking at videos. “Understanding what is happening in the brain is the key to changing our lives. “Dopamine itself is a signal. It’s a neurotransmitter that’s essential for the experience of pleasure, reward, and motivation.” Dr. Anna Lembke , Chief of Addiction Medicine at Stanford. In this creative mind audio, Dr. Lembke explains how much this neurotransmitter affects our motivations and attention and quality of experience, including happiness. The first short segment is from the video trailer for her Masterclass, followed by a clip from a Fresh Air interview with Terry Gross, then a short clip from a sample video from her class. Her Masterclass program: Dopamine: Take Your Brain Back . ~~~~~~~ Her book: Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence . ~~~~ From article by Dr. Cathleen King : How Long Does it Take to Rewire the Brain After Addiction? “Addiction messes with the way your brain’s reward system works, especially when it comes to dopamine. This chemical is…

People in this episode

Host: Douglas Eby

Guest: Dr. Anna Lembke

Topics covered

  • dopamine
  • brain
  • addiction
  • motivation
  • happiness
  • self-improvement

Keywords

  • dopamine
  • brain
  • addiction
  • motivation
  • happiness
  • neurotransmitter
  • self-improvement

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Stanford

Books & works: Dopamine: Take Your Brain Back, Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence

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