The Molecule of More

The Molecule of More Plot Summary

Introduction

Imagine a world where one tiny molecule could explain why we fall in love, why we get addicted to substances, why some people are creative geniuses while others struggle with mental illness, and even why we vote the way we do. This molecule exists, and it's called dopamine. For decades, scientists believed dopamine was simply the "pleasure molecule," responsible for the good feelings we get from food, sex, and drugs. But recent research has revealed something far more fascinating: dopamine isn't about pleasure at all. It's about wanting, anticipating, and craving what we don't yet have. Dopamine drives us to look "up and away" toward future possibilities rather than enjoying what's right in front of us. It explains why the thrill of a new relationship fades, why addicts continue using drugs even when they no longer enjoy them, and why creative geniuses often lead troubled lives. Throughout this book, we'll explore how this single chemical shapes human behavior across an astonishing range of activities—from love and addiction to creativity and politics. We'll discover how dopamine works in opposition to the "Here and Now" chemicals that allow us to experience satisfaction in the present moment, and how finding the right balance between these systems might be the key to living a fulfilled life.

Chapter 1: The Chemistry of Desire: How Dopamine Drives Love and Addiction

When we fall in love, we experience an intoxicating rush of excitement, obsession, and anticipation. Every text message from our new partner sends our hearts racing. We can't stop thinking about them. This isn't just poetic language—it's neurochemistry at work. Specifically, it's dopamine, a neurotransmitter that makes up only 0.0005% of brain cells but exerts an outsized influence on our behavior. Contrary to popular belief, dopamine isn't the "pleasure molecule." It's the anticipation molecule. When researchers studied the brains of animals receiving rewards, they discovered something surprising: dopamine neurons fired most strongly not when receiving a reward, but when anticipating it. Even more interestingly, once a reward became predictable, dopamine stopped firing altogether. This explains why the passionate phase of love typically lasts only 12-18 months. When our partner becomes familiar and predictable, dopamine activity decreases, and the initial excitement fades. The same mechanism explains addiction. Drugs like cocaine and heroin directly stimulate the dopamine system, creating an artificial sense that something incredibly valuable has been discovered. The faster a substance enters the brain, the more dopamine is released—which is why smoking crack cocaine is more addictive than snorting powder cocaine. But as with love, tolerance develops. The brain adapts, and more of the substance is needed to achieve the same effect. Eventually, addicts continue using not to feel good, but to avoid feeling terrible when dopamine crashes. This distinction between "wanting" and "liking" is crucial. Dopamine makes us want things with intense desire, but it doesn't guarantee we'll enjoy them once we get them. That's why a shopping addict might obsess over buying a new pair of shoes, only to feel empty once they're purchased. Or why a food addict might crave a donut, devour it without much enjoyment, then immediately want another. Liking involves different brain chemicals—the "Here and Now" molecules like endorphins and endocannabinoids that allow us to experience satisfaction in the present moment. Understanding this distinction helps explain many puzzling human behaviors. It's why the thrill of getting a promotion fades quickly, why lottery winners often end up no happier than before, and why Mick Jagger, after sleeping with an estimated 4,000 women, still "can't get no satisfaction." Dopamine's job isn't satisfaction—it's perpetual desire.

Chapter 2: Dopamine vs. Here & Now Chemicals: The Brain's Dual Systems

Our brains operate with two fundamentally different systems that often work in opposition to each other. The dopamine system focuses on the future, on things we don't yet have but want to acquire. The "Here and Now" (H&N) system focuses on the present moment, allowing us to experience and enjoy what we already possess. Understanding this duality is key to understanding human behavior. The dopamine system divides the world into two spaces: the "peripersonal" (what's within arm's reach, what we already have) and the "extrapersonal" (what's beyond our reach, what we don't yet have). Dopamine is concerned with the extrapersonal space—the realm of possibility, planning, and pursuit. It's what makes us look "up and away" toward distant horizons. The H&N chemicals—including serotonin, oxytocin, endorphins, and endocannabinoids—are concerned with the peripersonal space, allowing us to experience pleasure from what's immediately available. These two systems serve different evolutionary purposes. Dopamine evolved to ensure survival by motivating us to acquire resources for the future—food, shelter, mates. It makes us restless, dissatisfied with what we have, always seeking more. The H&N system evolved to help us enjoy and make use of resources we've already acquired. Both are necessary, but they operate in different timeframes and often inhibit each other. When dopamine is active, H&N chemicals tend to be suppressed, and vice versa. This explains why planning a vacation is often more exciting than actually being on it. While planning, dopamine creates vivid, idealized visions of how wonderful everything will be. But once you're actually at your destination, dopamine quiets down, and reality—experienced through H&N chemicals—rarely matches those idealized expectations. Similarly, many people find themselves checking work emails while on vacation instead of enjoying the present moment—dopamine pulling them back to future-oriented concerns. The dopamine system isn't just about basic desires like food and sex. It also powers higher cognitive functions like abstract thinking, planning, and creativity. It allows us to imagine things that don't exist yet and work toward making them real. This is why dopamine is sometimes called the "molecule of more"—it constantly pushes us toward something better, something beyond what we currently have. Finding balance between these systems is crucial for wellbeing. Too much dopamine dominance leads to constant dissatisfaction, addiction, and burnout. Too much H&N dominance can lead to complacency and lack of progress. The healthiest state is one where we can switch appropriately between future-focused planning and present-moment enjoyment.

Chapter 3: The Creative Brain: Dopamine, Genius and Madness

The connection between creativity and mental illness has been observed for centuries, but only recently have we begun to understand the neurochemical basis for this link. Both creativity and certain forms of mental illness—particularly schizophrenia and bipolar disorder—involve elevated dopamine activity, which explains why they often go hand in hand. Creativity requires the ability to break apart conventional models of reality and see connections that others miss. This process, called "model breaking," depends on dopamine's ability to attach significance to things that might normally be filtered out as irrelevant. Most people have what scientists call "latent inhibition"—the ability to ignore familiar stimuli that have proven unimportant. This is normally adaptive; we'd be overwhelmed if we paid attention to everything. But people with lower latent inhibition—often those with higher dopamine activity—notice details others miss and make connections others don't see. This is precisely what happens in both creativity and psychosis. In schizophrenia, dopamine overactivity leads to attaching excessive significance to ordinary things—seeing "messages" in license plate numbers or believing television programs contain personal communications. In milder forms, this same mechanism allows creative people to notice patterns and possibilities that others overlook. As Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John Nash (who had schizophrenia) explained when asked how he could believe in aliens: "Because the ideas I had about supernatural beings came to me the same way that my mathematical ideas did." Dreams provide another window into this connection. During dreaming, the brain's frontal lobes—which normally filter information—are less active, while dopamine circuits run relatively unchecked. This allows for the bizarre, boundary-breaking connections characteristic of dreams. Many creative breakthroughs have come through dreams or dream-like states, from Friedrich August Kekulé discovering the structure of benzene after dreaming of a snake biting its own tail, to Paul McCartney waking up with the melody for "Yesterday" fully formed in his mind. The link between dopamine, creativity, and mental illness explains why so many brilliant artists, scientists, and writers throughout history have struggled with psychological problems. Vincent van Gogh, Virginia Woolf, John Nash, and countless others produced extraordinary work while battling severe mental illness. Even those who don't develop full-blown disorders often display "dopaminergic" personality traits—intense focus on abstract ideas, difficulty with relationships, eccentricity, and a constant dissatisfaction that drives them to create. This doesn't mean creativity requires mental illness, but it does suggest they share common neurochemical roots. The same dopamine-driven ability to see beyond conventional reality that enables breakthrough thinking can, in excess, lead to losing touch with reality altogether. The line between genius and madness may be thinner than we thought—and dopamine helps explain why.

Chapter 4: Politics and Progress: How Dopamine Shapes Society

Our political beliefs might seem to be the product of rational thought and careful consideration of values, but neuroscience reveals a surprising truth: political orientation is significantly influenced by brain chemistry, particularly the balance between dopamine and H&N neurotransmitters. This helps explain why political divisions can be so persistent and why people on opposite sides of the spectrum often find it impossible to understand each other. Research shows that liberals tend to have more active dopamine systems. They're more comfortable with change, novelty, and abstract thinking. They focus on future possibilities and are motivated by ideals of progress and transformation. Conservatives, by contrast, tend to have more active H&N systems. They're more attuned to concrete realities, more sensitive to potential threats, and more focused on preserving what they already have. This isn't to say one orientation is better than the other—both approaches have advantages and disadvantages. These neurochemical differences manifest in numerous ways. Liberals score higher on measures of openness to experience and cognitive flexibility, while conservatives show greater sensitivity to disgust and threat. In laboratory studies, conservatives spend more time looking at negative images, while liberals divide their attention more evenly between positive and negative stimuli. Even subtle environmental cues can temporarily shift people's political attitudes—exposure to hand sanitizer (which triggers thoughts of contamination) makes people temporarily more conservative, while imagining having superpowers that make you invulnerable makes people temporarily more liberal. The dopamine/H&N divide also explains differences in charitable giving and approaches to helping others. Conservatives give more to charity as a percentage of income than liberals, preferring direct, personal assistance. Liberals are more likely to support government programs that help people indirectly through policy. The conservative approach is more H&N-focused (helping specific individuals in the here and now), while the liberal approach is more dopamine-focused (creating abstract systems to help people in general). These differences extend to relationship patterns as well. Conservatives are more likely to marry and less likely to divorce or cheat on their spouses—consistent with an H&N focus on maintaining existing relationships. Liberals report more sexual partners and higher rates of infidelity—consistent with dopamine's drive for novelty and new experiences. Interestingly, conservatives report higher rates of sexual satisfaction, possibly because the H&N chemicals that facilitate stable relationships also enhance physical pleasure. Understanding these neurochemical underpinnings doesn't invalidate either political perspective. In fact, it suggests both approaches are necessary for a healthy society. Dopamine-driven progressives push for innovation and change, while H&N-focused conservatives provide stability and preserve what works. The challenge is finding ways for these complementary perspectives to work together rather than seeing each other as enemies.

Chapter 5: Finding Balance: Harmonizing Dopamine with Present Experience

Finding harmony between our dopamine-driven pursuit of more and our ability to enjoy what we already have is perhaps the greatest challenge of modern life. Our culture increasingly pushes us toward constant dopamine stimulation—through smartphones, social media, advertising, and a relentless focus on achievement and acquisition. Yet true happiness requires balancing this future focus with present enjoyment. The consequences of dopamine dominance are all around us. Despite unprecedented material abundance, rates of depression, anxiety, and addiction continue to rise. People work longer hours to buy things they don't have time to enjoy. Relationships suffer as partners chase the dopamine high of new romance rather than developing the deeper satisfaction of companionate love. Even our attention spans have shortened as we constantly seek the next dopamine hit from notifications, headlines, and updates. How can we restore balance? One approach is through activities that engage both dopamine and H&N systems simultaneously. Creative pursuits like painting, cooking, gardening, or making music combine dopamine's planning and anticipation with the sensory pleasure of H&N chemicals. Similarly, physical activities like sports or dance engage both systems. Construction workers consistently report higher job satisfaction than many white-collar professionals, likely because their work combines abstract planning with concrete, physical results. Mindfulness—the practice of paying full attention to present experience—is another powerful balancing tool. By deliberately focusing on sensory experiences rather than future concerns, we activate H&N circuits that counterbalance dopamine's constant pull toward what's next. Even brief "microbreaks" to observe nature or engage with physical reality can reset our neurochemical balance. Research shows that just 40 seconds of looking at natural scenes can improve concentration and reduce stress. Mastery—becoming highly skilled at something challenging—provides a unique form of satisfaction that bridges dopamine and H&N systems. The process of developing mastery engages dopamine through goal-setting and improvement, but also creates moments of "flow" where we're fully present in the activity. Once mastery is achieved, dopamine's work is done, and it allows H&N chemicals to generate feelings of satisfaction and accomplishment. Perhaps most importantly, we need to recognize when dopamine is making promises it can't keep. The next promotion, purchase, or relationship won't bring lasting happiness if we remain trapped in dopamine's cycle of perpetual wanting. True satisfaction comes not from acquiring more, but from developing the capacity to appreciate what we already have through the activation of our H&N systems. The human brain evolved in an environment of scarcity, where dopamine's drive for more was essential for survival. In today's world of abundance, we need to consciously cultivate the ability to switch between future-focused striving and present-moment enjoyment. Only by harmonizing these complementary systems can we achieve the balanced life that leads to genuine fulfillment.

Summary

At its core, The Molecule of More reveals a profound insight about human nature: we are driven by two fundamentally different brain systems that often work at cross-purposes. Dopamine propels us toward future possibilities, making us want what we don't yet have, while the Here and Now chemicals allow us to experience satisfaction with what we already possess. Neither system is inherently good or bad—both evolved for important reasons—but modern life has tilted the balance dramatically toward dopamine dominance, with consequences ranging from addiction and relationship difficulties to political polarization and environmental destruction. This neurochemical perspective offers a new lens for understanding countless human behaviors that might otherwise seem puzzling or contradictory. Why do we chase after goals only to feel empty once we achieve them? Why do creative geniuses often lead troubled lives? Why do political opponents seem to live in different realities? The dopamine/H&N framework provides illuminating answers to these questions and many more. The challenge for each of us is to recognize when dopamine's promises of future satisfaction are leading us astray, and to cultivate practices that restore balance between anticipation and experience, between wanting and enjoying. In a world that constantly pushes us to want more, the path to wellbeing may lie in rediscovering the profound satisfaction available in the present moment.

About Author

Loading...

Daniel Z. Lieberman

Read more