- Category
- Products
- Conditions
Lifestyle articles
alertness
cognition
sleep
wellbeing
Science articles
Tyrosine and dopamine: new trends & evidence for brain benefits from 2024
filter
Your brain's reward system operates on a remarkable brain messenger, your reward and pleasure chemical dopamine. It orchestrates everything from your feelings of pleasure to your daily motivation. When you experience something enjoyable, whether it's achieving a goal, eating delicious food, or spending time with loved ones, dopamine creates that signature rush of satisfaction that makes you want to repeat the experience. Studies from 2024 show that dopamine also plays a part in cognitive performance and fear response. Discover all the new evidence and popular dopamine trends of 2024 in this l-tyrosine review.
Does dopamine really work?
Your reward and pleasure chemical dopamine is known for its effects on motivation and alertness by supporting your feelings of pleasure while doing something you love[1 Trusted Source 2009 - Current Biology Human study Dopamine enhances expectation of pleasure in humans ] ,[2 Trusted Source 2004 - Nature Reviews Neuroscience Research evaluation Dopamine, learning and motivation ] ,[3 Trusted Source 2023 - Journal of Applied Physiology Human study Exogenous ketosis increases circulating dopamine concentration and maintains mental alertness in ultra-endurance exercise ] . For these effects to kick in, you need to make sure you’re taking your time with activities that could bring you pleasure in the first place so dopamine can get released. Additionally, it’s also important to make sure your brain is full of dopamine as this can support important brain processes such as cognition according to new 2024 studies. Before we dive into the results, here’s how you can make sure, your body’s producing enough dopamine.
Will tyrosine increase dopamine?
Dopamine’s building block, tyrosine, is the natural “raw material” that your brain uses to create the reward and pleasure chemical. When you consume protein-rich foods like cheese, pumpkin seeds, meat, and tofu, you’re supplying your brain with the tools to produce more dopamine. Only when dopamine levels are high enough are you going to be able to feel the benefits. Now, let’s explore how new evidence and trends impact dopamine’s future for 2025.
1. Say hello to a new trend: What is the dopamine menu on social media?
A dopamine menu is a personalized list of activities organized like a restaurant menu, designed to equip you with ideas of pleasurable activities. They are divided into categories based on their effect. Starters are short activities that help you get a quick boost in pleasure. Mains last for longer and are more rewarding. Sides are great to complement an unenjoyable activity while deserts are there for you to enjoy them moderately. Created by an actress, writer, and YouTube personality Jessica McCabe in her 2020 YouTube video, this tool was initially developed to help people with ADHD manage their dopamine levels and find stimulation when needed. In 2024, TikTok users picked up on it, making it a social trend. It’s a great idea to help you pick activities that are going to help you release dopamine. Before that, you need to make sure your brain’s producing enough dopamine levels from tyrosine though! Make sure to read this dopamine menu guide to learn how to make one yourself and how to stock up on tyrosine.
2. Dopamine and cognition: How does dopamine affect memory?
While dopamine is mostly linked to experiencing pleasure and reward that fuels your motivation and alertness during tasks, emerging evidence found a connection to a healthier brain and cognition. A groundbreaking study conducted at the RIKEN Center for Brain Science in Japan revealed a possible decrease in Alzheimer's symptoms with dopamine. Memory brain centres of old mice were prepped by scientists to stimulate Alzheimer’s disease[4 Trusted Source 2024 - Science signaling Animal study The dopaminergic system promotes neprilysin-mediated degradation of amyloid-β in the brain ] . Mice were treated with a synthetic building block of dopamine called levodopa[4 Trusted Source 2024 - Science signaling Animal study The dopaminergic system promotes neprilysin-mediated degradation of amyloid-β in the brain ] . The research showed that dopamine promotes the production of a molecule called neprilysin that breaks down harmful brain plaques that lead to cognitive decline[4 Trusted Source 2024 - Science signaling Animal study The dopaminergic system promotes neprilysin-mediated degradation of amyloid-β in the brain ] . Considering this is the first study of many on this front, any conclusions on this kind of treatment would be premature. Interesting findings definitely sparked scientific interest so you may expect a follow-up study in humans soon. Do you know what has been researched on people? Dopamine’s effects on stress. Here’s what they found.
3. Keep your cool with your reward and pleasure chemical: How does dopamine relate to stress?
A 2024 study linked dopamine’s building block tyrosine to better cognitive performance during intense situations[5 Trusted Source 2024 - Stress Human study Impact of L-theanine and L-tyrosine on markers of stress and cognitive performance in response to a virtual reality based active shooter training drill ] . US researchers from Texas State University examined how tyrosine affects stress responses and cognition during stressful situations[5 Trusted Source 2024 - Stress Human study Impact of L-theanine and L-tyrosine on markers of stress and cognitive performance in response to a virtual reality based active shooter training drill ] . 80 subjects were administered either a relaxation nutrient theanine, tyrosine or a drug without a therapeutic effect called a placebo. Tyrosine supplementation was shown to help maintain better cognitive performance during a mental stress challenge[5 Trusted Source 2024 - Stress Human study Impact of L-theanine and L-tyrosine on markers of stress and cognitive performance in response to a virtual reality based active shooter training drill ] . Participants missed fewer responses on a demanding mental task[5 Trusted Source 2024 - Stress Human study Impact of L-theanine and L-tyrosine on markers of stress and cognitive performance in response to a virtual reality based active shooter training drill ] , highlighting the link between stress and dopamine. Wondering how that happened? Fear regulation might be the answer. Let’s take a look.
4. Dopamine’s role in being scared: What is the root cause of fear?
While it’s hard to pinpoint only one cause, dopamine plays a crucial role in fear. Austrian and US scientists collaborated to assess how fear and the brain are connected by observing if dopamine can help you memorise a nice memory that overrides a memory of a scary situation[6 Trusted Source 2024 - Translational psychiatry 3rd-party source Fear extinction rescuing effects of dopamine and L-DOPA in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex ] . They discovered that increasing dopamine levels can help reduce fear responses and improve the process of combining different memories together[6 Trusted Source 2024 - Translational psychiatry 3rd-party source Fear extinction rescuing effects of dopamine and L-DOPA in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex ] .
What’s the best tyrosine supplement for 2025?
Tyrosine is an exciting natural supplement for 2025, offering multiple potential benefits by elevating dopamine levels. You could ensure an adequate tyrosine intake by ingesting enough tyrosine-rich foods as mentioned above. How to increase dopamine with supplements? Alternatively, you could opt for tyrosine in a supplement form which will take from 1 to 2 hours to work its magic[7 Trusted Source 2015 - Journal of psychiatric research Research evaluation Effect of tyrosine supplementation on clinical and healthy populations under stress or cognitive demands--A review ] . brain feed developed the world's 1st 800mg natural tyrosine capsules from fermented corn, providing you with the amount of tyrosine you need per day in a single capsule.
The relationship between tyrosine and dopamine represents one of nature's numerous brilliant designs for maintaining mental well-being.
References
[1] Sharot, T., Shiner, T., Brown, A. C., Fan, J., & Dolan, R. J. (2009). Dopamine enhances expectation of pleasure in humans. Current Biology, 19(24), 2077–2080. https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(09)01844-2
[2] Wise, R. A. (2004). Dopamine, learning and motivation. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 5(6), 483–494. https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn1406
[3] Poffé, C., Robberechts, R., Stalmans, M., Vanderroost, J., Bogaerts, S., & Hespel, P. (2023). Exogenous ketosis increases circulating dopamine concentration and maintains mental alertness in ultra-endurance exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology, 134(6), 1456–1469. https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.00791.2022
[4] Watamura, N., Kakiya, N., Fujioka, R., Kamano, N., Takahashi, M., Nilsson, P., Saito, T., Iwata, N., Fujisawa, S., & Saido, T. C. (2024). The dopaminergic system promotes neprilysin-mediated degradation of amyloid-β in the brain. Science signaling, 17(848), eadk1822. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scisignal.adk1822
[5] McAllister, M. J., Martaindale, M. H., Dillard, C. C., & McCullough, R. (2024). Impact of L-theanine and L-tyrosine on markers of stress and cognitive performance in response to a virtual reality based active shooter training drill. Stress, 27(1), 2375588. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10253890.2024.2375588
[6] Sartori, S. B., Keil, T. M. V., Kummer, K. K., Murphy, C. P., Gunduz-Cinar, O., Kress, M., Ebner, K., Holmes, A., & Singewald, N. (2024). Fear extinction rescuing effects of dopamine and L-DOPA in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Translational psychiatry, 14(1), 11. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-023-02708-8
[7] Jongkees, B. J., Hommel, B., Kühn, S., & Colzato, L. S. (2015). Effect of tyrosine supplementation on clinical and healthy populations under stress or cognitive demands--A review. Journal of psychiatric research, 70, 50–57. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022395615002472
Leave a comment
Open tab