In this graphic

you can see the limbic system in dark color

and the cerebral cortex on the outside,

which is very large in humans

and much smaller in monkeys and rats

and other animals.

You can think of cerebral cortex as the rational,

logical brain,

sort of like Spock on Star Trek.

It's not emotional,

it's the planning,

thinking part of our brain,

which comes up with clever ideas.

Now,

the cerebral cortex

understands the consequences of our actions;

the limbic system does not.

Like car engines,

all have the same basic design,

so do all limbic systems.

Whether it belongs to a rat,

cat, dog, or us.

Now,

whether it's hunger, mothering,

mating or sexual desire,

or even addiction,

the same brain chemicals and structures

do the same jobs in all mammals.

You see,

scientists aren't studying rat brains

to trying to figure out how to help rats.

No,

they're studying them to help us

with our addictions

and other reasons.

The study is useful to us

because limbic systems are so similar

in all mammals.

It's important to remember

that the chemical balance of our limbic system

shapes how we see the world,

shapes our mood.

If our limbic brain is out of balance,

so is our decision making.

At its most basic,

the limbic system is all about avoiding pain

and repeating pleasure.

You see,

survival depends on the avoidance of pain,

both physical and emotional

and the repetition of pleasure,

hot stove = bad,

ice cream = good,

mommy = good,

snake = bad.

Porn = good?

You get the idea.

Now,

you're looking at the center of the brain,

sliced down in the middle

and you can see

there is this pretty small area

called reward circuit.

Sometimes you also hear the term

reward center

and you can see that it actually goes

from the limbic system

up to the rational brain.

This is so important.

We're going to be spending most of our time

talking about this circuit.

You see,

this is where you experience

all desire and most pleasures

such as sex and orgasm.

It's also where you decide

what you don't like and what you do like

and that's why it's pretty important.

It's small, but

in essence, it's running the show.

You never make a decision

without consulting your reward circuit.

If you're addicted to anything,

here's where it happened.

The reward circuitry is activated

whenever we engage in behaviors

that further our survival

or more importantly,

the survival of our genes.

The rule is this:

To get motivated,

you must be rewarded.

So this circuit gives you feelings of pleasure

and also the motivation

to seek out pleasure.

It drives you to eat,

engaged in sex,

take risks and bond.

It's where you fall in love with your spouse

and with your children and your parents.

It also gets activated

when your team wins,

or you feel like an alpha male,

or you're bungee jumping.

The more exciting the experience,

the stronger this reward circuitry is activated.

But, keep in mind

that it's also activated for simple pleasures

like watching a beautiful sunset,

or walk in the woods,

or even a smile from a girlfriend.

Chemicals turned on and off

certain parts of the brain.

For the reward circuitry,

it's dopamine.

It's the main chemical of a group

called neurotransmitters.

They turn the reward circuitry on.

The reward circuitry is the engine,

it truly is,

and dopamine is the gas.

If you really like high calorie foods,

that maybe because you actually get

a bigger blast of dopamine for it

than you do for low calorie foods.

You crave them more

because their register is more rewarding.

That's why you choose chocolate cake

over brussel sprouts.

It has been programmed:

“Give me high calories!”

Think about sugar.

A sugar buzz

is dopamine acting on the reward circuitry.

It's not the sugar in your blood acting on the brain.

Now,

excluding drugs like meth or cocaine,

orgasm is the biggest blast of dopamine.

Dopamine has lots of nick names:

The craving neurochemical,

the “I got to have it no matter what” neurochemical.

You see,

it's behind all motivation to do anything.

You're not craving ice cream

or sex with a porn star.

No,

you're actually craving more stimulation

of your reward circuitry.

You don't want to win the lotto;

you want to activate your reward circuitry.

The bigger surge of dopamine

in response to something,

the more you want it.

Here's a question.

Why don't those hedge fund billionaires retire?

They certainly don't need any more money.

Yes, they want more dopamine

in the form of winning at the stock market game.

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