The Role of Phasic Pulse and Tonic Pool of Dopamine

Our consciousness is like a net. We want the net to be fluid enough to let thoughts that bother us pass through without grabbing our attention, but strong enough to grab on to the ideas and motivations that will drive us to achieve what we value in life. Nutrition has a big impact on this net. In this episode, learn how foods like liver, egg yolks, meat, leafy greens, legumes, collagen, bone broth, spinach, wheat, and beets can impact how fluid or stable your mind is by impacting the methylation of dopamine, and how to achieve the proper balance.

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In this episode, you'll find all the following and more:

00:38 Cliff Notes

12:15 Three stories illustrating how foods impact mental stability and fluidity.

13:00 How veganism profoundly worsened my OCD and panic attacks and going Weston A. Price made them disappear.

18:55 Jeffrey is an entrepreneur who uses intermittent fasting and low-protein lunches to remain hyper-focused through the workday, but at the risk of an occasional panic attack.

22:05 Jordan uses methylation supplements to optimize his energy and mental focus, but can experience a spectrum of methylation states that range from bodily tiredness on one end to intense focus suitable for creative and analytic work in the middle, to flighty productivity suitable for errands on the high end, to a severe crash characterized by apathy.

26:50 The methylation system and the roles of sulfur amino acids (methionine and cysteine), magnesium, ATP, B6, serine and glycine, folate, B12, niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, choline, betaine, and creatine.

34:18 The two principle fates of homocysteine.

40:10 Glycine as the endogenous buffer of extra methyl groups.

42:40 Obtaining betaine and choline from foods.

45:40 Creatine as a methyl group sparer.

48:20 Niacin and nicotinamide riboside as a tax on the methylation system.

50:25 Tonic and phasic dopamine, and how methylation mediated by catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) regulates the balance.

57:20 How the balance of tonic and phasic dopamine determines the ease of switching mental states.

1:03:50 Worrier vs. warrior phenotype.

1:09:10 Histamine in the brain as an alertness signal and a potential contributor to panic attacks.

1:11:55 Explaining the three stories.

1:22:00 Practical conclusions.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/043-methylate-your-way-to-mental

Chris Masterjohn, PhD, is the Founder and Scientific Director of the mitochondria test Mitome.