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The Dopamine - Impulse Buy link
cogno64 writes "Certain stimuli in the brain, such as the smell of freshly based cookies, lead to higher levels of dopamine that remain after the stimulus is removed, leading to altered behavior through interaction with learning, memory, and executive function. The experiencer is more likely to make a purchase decision based on their heightened dopamine levels, with significant impact for internet marketers.
According to research presented at the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting today, the neurotransmitter dopamine continues to be released for nearly an hour after neurons are stimulated, suggesting the existence of secondary mechanisms that allow for sustained availability of dopamine in different regions of the brain including areas critical for memory consolidation, drug induced plasticity and maintaining active networks during working memory.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with learning and memory, motor control, reward perception and executive functions such as working memory, behavioral flexibility and decision making. When a novel or salient stimulus occurs, the dopamine neurons in the brain increase their firing rate, boosting the release of dopamine. The dopamine is diffused into the extracellular space of the brain until it can be transported or metabolized."
No longer will you "just" get a cut hand when reaching inside, you will get 2ccs of pure dopamine.
Not that you would notice with your new Apple mac and 32" monitor.
liqbase
How does one base a cookie?
nothing
...from the same great folks that brought you "Muzak". Step into the elevator and the smell of fresh cinnamon rolls is chemically synthesized and fed into the vents. By the time you arrive in the department store you'll already be reaching for your wallet!
Waits for the "Smell-o-Scope" and "Uranus/Urectum" jokes to start.
I don't reply to Anonymous posts; if you have something to say to me, identify yourself or I won't reply.
But I always eat cookies when browsing Slashdot... hey, that explains the huge pile of overhyped LED keyboards, novelty mice, Futurama DVDs, Phantom lapboards, and iPod accesories in my office!
Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
"Really, sweetie, the beer store smelled like cookies!"
Trolling is a art,
Now if they could only come up with a product that resulted in increased serotonin levels, I'd buy it in a heartbeat!
(Serotonin is involved in depression and anxiety disorders.)
Please correct me if I got my facts wrong.
Dopamine:
Caused by information.
Creates code monkeys that actually work.
Used as a natural reward.
IOW, reading Slashdot causes people to work, who can then be rewarded with reading more Slashdot. Or, Slashdot is the Pravda of the Digital Proletarian. Hmm, the slash is the action of the sickle, the dot looks like a star, if we could just hammer away at the idea of changing the green to read, and removing all the non-Socialist comments here.
Unfortuantely, this latest find is probably ther work of evil capitalist swine (detectable by his silly use of the awkward word "experiencer", when "subject" is more apropriate). And we should not tolerate this latest insolence.
Have you read my journal today?
and you won't ever be a victim of impulse buying. For example, whenever I go to a mall and I smell freshly baked bread, I always remind myself that it's a synthesized flavor in a can that one of the employee periodically sprays around the entrance (go to a bread or cookie shop in a mall, I guarantee you there's no equipment there that can produce real freshly baked bread smells). Same for car dealership: it's very well known that they spray "new car scents" inside the car, even in second hand cars.
Same for things for sale that look too clean or too well kept: I always try to picture the thing with normal everyday-use dirt on it before buying. Cars come to mind, they're never dirty when the salesman shows them to you.
So my rule of thumbs is: if it suddenly smells good in odd places where those smells shouldn't be, or if I see things that look too good, I automatically go into "beware of impulse buying mode".
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
Damn! I was really hoping that slashdot was going to give me a link where I could impulse-buy vast quantities of dopamine...
This guy's the limit!
FTA- "...they applied tetrodotoxin (TTX), a neurotoxin that blocks the active release of dopamine, to the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex. TTX caused dopamine levels to drop..."
Lab Rat- "you're totally bumming me out with that neurotoxin, dude."
1 voice in a sea of voices
My browser automatically deletes fresh cookies.
Buying new things usually entails a lot of planning and researching before making a decision, and old products I am familiar with like groceries and such I buy as needed.
So what's wrong with me? Well, other than going over purchase decisions in my head for ten minutes when deciding what books to buy. Should I start snorting chocolate, so I can know the joy of impulse shopping?
IANAD but they're all called "seratonin uptake inhibitors" and the gist is they stop your brain from reabsorbing seratonin and therefore increasing the constant level found in your brain.
If you want to get really wacky, you can take MDMA (ecstasy) and have ALL of your seratonin flood into the brain at once, getting tracers, a "bulletproof" feeling, and (to quote Ali G) the desire to dance like a prick.
Finally, a more reliable way to increase your seratonin levels is through eating right and daily exercise. I'd lean much more heavily on this method rather than any sort of drug for this, as messing with the brain directly is a bit. . . ponderous. Lots of side effects from Paxil/Prozac/et al and they're ALL addictive. Even when they say they're not. Paxil claimed to be non-addictive for a while, and it was on the market for over 2 years before the drugco went "oops, looks like it is addictive! Our bad! But look at its profitability!"
Legalized drug dealers, indeed.
You better watch out, there may be dogs about . .
They'll be blasting people with the stuff on entry to their stores.
I wonder if it also stops people paying attention as much so they don't notice the blatant mistakes all over their dockets.
I'm gonna need a spec.
Does this mean that Amazon will send me free cookies with a card reminding me to check out my gold box?
If so, I'm all for it!
Karma: SELECT `karma` FROM `users` WHERE `userid`=138474;
After hammering me with loud TV and radio ads, assaulting my eyeballs with garish print and web ads, flooding my inbox with email ads, and littering the landscape with signs and billboards, the marketers have come up with another to try to make me buy crap I don't want. I'm pretty good at resisting, but damn I get tired of this crap in my face all day long. Just go away, dammit! :-)
This sig has exceed its monthly bandwidth allotment.
I will think twice now before clearing my cookies.
keyboard not found! press any key to continue...
...just get yourself addicted to coke. A few lines here and a half a gram there, and you'll find yourself on eBay selling shit so you can score more blow.
The neutrality of this sig is disputed.
Novelty releases dopamine. I think this is why apple is the way it is. They have products that look and feel so differently.
Info like this is really good to know so that you can analyze your own brain in various contexts in which someone is trying to manipulate you. It happens, and it is only bad when you don't know and don't care when it happens. And then it is only bad for the individual, it is good for the manipulator and the economy.
Die when you die -GG Allin
... and suddenly it becomes obvious why the snack bar at Walmart is right there when you walk in the door, bathing your unsuspecting synapses in popcorn, hotdog, and cotton candy smells.
Mmmm, dopamine. And look, a plastic lawn chair at just $18.95!
Go ahead. Click that moderate button. You know you want to.
Additionally, I don't set policy or have any influence on either policy-making/research so. . . here's to ignorance! *quaffs Serotonin Uptake Inhibitor Potion +3*
(thanks for the clarifications on my post - I'm not a doctor nor do I pretend to have more than a passing knowledge of pharmaceuticals. I do agree 100% with your post that we need to do more research on MDMA and remove the bias presented towards some drugs (i.e. untaxed drugs) particularly when it comes to the brain.)
I still think anti-deps are over-prescribed.
You better watch out, there may be dogs about . .
A cursory google search turned up a class action suit against Glaxo and a whole slew of links associated with it and Paxil. Mostly lawyers attempting to cash in, but the link above was one that wasn't lawsuit-oriented. I think. TBH I didn't read any of it but the headline.
Stating that all of them are addictive was hyperbole, spurred by cynicism towards our drug-makers.
You better watch out, there may be dogs about . .
A cursory google search turned up a class action suit against Glaxo and a whole slew of links associated with it and Paxil. Mostly lawyers attempting to cash in, but the link above was one that wasn't lawsuit-oriented. I think. TBH I didn't read any of it but the headline.
So plenty of claims, many involving money, but no evidence.
With a google search I think you can also find class actions suits against Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny.
Certain stimuli in the brain, such as the smell of freshly based cookies, lead to higher levels of dopamine that remain after the stimulus is removed
Um, yes. It's called hunger. Hunger is a feeling brought on by external stimuli (smell, sight, etc.) or internal stimuli (the thought of food, etc.). This does not necessarily generalize into whether or not someone will buy the newest Barbie upon sight.
Really. I just bought some Mothers Leather Cleaner goo and used it. Now my car smells brand new. If you don't have leather try rubbing it into your hair.
This phenomenon has been used in stores and most notably shopping malls for a long time. Specific music and specific scents increase the amount of sales significally.
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Article about study: http://ur.rutgers.edu/medrel/viewArticle.html?Art
Oh, I can't help quoting you because everything that you said rings true
Actually, dope does work on the endo-cannabinoid receptors, and there's been some recent work about manipulating them (I forget if it was blocking them, or blocking reuptake, or quite what) to reduce feelings of hunger for weight-loss purposes, basically the opposite of getting the munchies.