Dopamine and Education

Dopamine is a fairly well known and understood neurotransmitter. For those that aren't aware it regulates the reward systems in the brain, essentially making us feel good in response to a certain stimuli or situation. However, what is less understood is the important impact dopamine can have on the way we learn. Berke (2018) describes how dopamine acts as a "critical modulator of both learning and motivation". Therefore, dopamine plays a major role in both the way we learn but also SEND and their interactions in the environment. It is important to understand these concepts to know how to best plan and support dopaminal production by facilitating dopamine-rich environments.

Neurologically dopamine is both a monoamine and catecholamine neurotransmitter. A core part of dopamine release in the brain is through the mesocorticolimbic system, extending from the ventral tegmental area to the nucleus accumbens and cerebral cortex. The mesocorticolimbic system is an amalgamation of both the mesolimbic system and mesocortical pathways with little overlap between the two systems other than striatum (Reynolds et al., 2018). This leads to the striatum being viewed as a 'choice point' where dopamine separates between the two strands (Stoeckli & Landmesser, 1998). Dopamine release is stimuli responsive and emit upon response of a motivational factor (Schultz, 2002). 

Before discussing how these processes link to learning theories and educational factors we must first discuss theories of motivation. It is commonly understood, especially in education, as a balance of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (Deci, 1975). This explanation places intrinsic motivation as caused by the self, such as one's own drive or determination, whereas extrinsic is motivational factors influenced by external factors, like a reward for completing a task. Theory places intrinsic motivation at the centre for the development of motivated self-regulated learners (Werner & Milyavskaya, 2018). However, it should be noted motivation as concept is purely a social theory with all aspects of motivation being formed by our experiences, surroundings and cultural context in which we preside (Nolen, 2007). This is why much of motivational theory is laced within traditional white theology and dismissive of the impact race, power dynamics, sex, and culture have within motivation formation. There are additional limitations of the traditional intrinsic-extrinsic dualism such as a lack of behavioural undermining in the presence of extrinsic motivation and a focus on more multifaceted approaches (Reiss, 2012).

There are various aspects relating dopamine functions to education such as learnt behaviours and conditioning. Learnt can be seen to operate closely to that of addictive behaviours, where students learn and repeat behaviours that repeat dopamine into the nucleus accumbens regardless of negative social or physical reactions (Hyman et al., 2006). These processes link closely to that of internal motivation (Blain & Sharot, 2021). This is further supported by studies linking intrinsic motivation to greater levels of self-efficacy, which has in turn been linked to increased activation in the ventral striatum (Cutler & Campbell-Meiklejohn, 2019). This takes a Vygotksian approach to learning (Vygotsky, 1978), as O'Connell & Hofmann (2011) outline the relationship between neural reward mechanisms and social behaviour networks within the animal kingdom. Secondly, conditioning is a response to reward system operations in the expectations of a reward after exhibiting certain behaviours (Kendler & Underwood, 1948). This links closely to the formation of addictive behaviours where once the stimuli is experienced dopamine is released and there becomes a desire to continue gaining these higher levels of dopamine production.

It is also very important to consider the dopaminal influence in SEND. There has been widely discussed links around connections between dopamine release and ADHD, a disorder characterised by inattention and hyperactivity (APA, 2013). The link between these behaviours and altered dopaminal release patterns is clear through relations to reward processing and motivation (Wise, 2004). As such during early childhood ADHD populations display abnormalities in the fronto-striatal, fronto-temporo-parietal, and fronto-cerebellar networks (Nakao et al., 2011). Similarly, studies show a relationship between nucleus accumbens connectivity and impulsivity in ADHD, as measured through temporal discounting tasks (Costa Dias et al., 2013). These kinds of tasks are related to hedonic-affective reactions, a key aspect of the mesocorticolimbic system. These are the pleasure seeking actions, occurring in the ventral striatum, and arise in response to a key stimuli (Royet et al., 2003). 

Similarly, ASD has been theorised to bear close relationships to the development of dopamine systems (Pavăl, 2017). Various aspects of ASD have already been related to the ventral tegmental area, part of the mesocorticolimbic system (Haber, 2014). Pavăl (2017) hypothesises that the social difficulties present in ASD could be reflective of inhibited mesocorticolimbic functioning as this could cause a lack of perceived reward from social experience. Therefore, present a lack of social seeking and opportunities for development of social interaction theory. This is further evidenced by those suffering from pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with streptococcal infections (PANDAS) showing similar behaviour to those with ASD, showing clear links between certain behaviours and dopaminal dysfunctions. This has led to studies providing dopamine antagonists to alter autistic traits. These may also explain the high levels of comorbidity present in childhood ASD and ADHD (REFERENCE). It should also be clear that whilst dopamine may play a key role in both conditions it does not provide a holistic explanation and there are a multitude of etiologies around both conditions. These sorts of explains often also place a heterogeneity towards ASD which is not the case and every ASD individual presents differently with differing needs, and personalities.

However, dopamine systems don't just influence SEND populations and have a huge impact on the way all child and young people learn. Diamond (1996) provides and explanation that dopamine plays a vital role in early prefrontal cortex functions, which are further linked to motivation, working memory and attentional control (Diamond, 2011). One of the biggest correlates of dopaminal systems is the effect on memory. Much research has linked the effects of dopamine on memory, detailing how dopamine promotes long-term and adaptive memory (Rossato et al., 2009; Shohamy & Adcock, 2010). On the other hand, whilst not directly related to children and young people Shiner et al. (2012) evidence the beneficial effects of dopamine on recall but not during the learning phase. This is further evidence that whilst dopamine may not be directly related to learning state instead being closer related to overall performance. This, however, is dismissive of the effects dopamine has on other aspects of school-life. Increased dopamine with systems has been linked to increased aggression (Gan et al., 2016) and anxiety (Lorberbaum et al., 2004), as well as reduced social skills (Supekar et al., 2018). This is also evidence of the need currently being presented in many classrooms with children and young people consistently experiencing heavily dopamine-rich environments through media, phones, and social media (Zaidal, 2023; Gutiérrez et al., 2016; Macit et al., 2018). 

The question then becomes how can we use dopamine to facilitate children's learning. As mentioned there are drawbacks to both a lack of and high levels of dopamine. This means we need to find a mid point at which we reach a optimal level of dopamine arousal. This is also called the Yerkes-Dodson Law (Easterbrook, 1959). Well, Hodges (2019) describes this scenario in the formation of dopamine-addicted students and elaborates with several strategies. These include the use of bottom-up signals, the natural responses to stimuli, by introducing variations of tone and volume when speaking, movement by teachers around the classroom, and the use of bright colours within resources. Hodges (2019) also promotes the education of technological addiction to give students full understanding of the way that these experiences exploit their attention and interests. 

In conclusion, dopamine is a vital neurotransmitter within educational processes, influencing not just memory but also behaviour and outcomes. The effect on SEND groups as well as the whole classroom presents it as a vital component to be understood by educational staff and makes up a core aspect of practice which should be nurtured and developed. Creating dopamine-rich environments has become more needed than ever due to increased prevalence of dopamine with children and young people's everyday lives.