Sorry, for such a question but i am in a debate and i really do think this is an important question.

What types of pleasures are there?

Is their a cognitive pleasure, a sensory pleasure, a spatial pleasure etc? I think they're are at least 4 types of pleasures, possibly seven. Knowing these pleasures to me seems like it would have the ability to explain why people play basket ball, golf, juggling, life science, reading, etc. Also may have some predictive powers on what types of games/actions would be fun, etc.

Also there are 5 types of dopamine receptors, does this have anything to do with how many pleasures there are? Could someone please explain the dopamine receptors to me? i also know with in the different types of dopamine receptors, there are a lot more sub groups. Think that is relevant at all?

So any input would be neat thanks in advance.

Some very interesting questions. I hope someone can enlighten us.

I suppose you could list as many types of things as people enjoy. They'd probably all have a different combination neurotransmitters and systems working to give you a slightly different feel e.g., sports would activate more endorphin/opiate type feelings than probably aesthetic appreciation.


We should start with dopamine does not equal pleasure. This notion was brought about because it was found that all drugs of abuse stimulate dopamine release in the mesolimbic area. The role of dopamine is more often thought of now as the system which places appropriate salience, interest and value to incentive stimuli. i.e stimuli that predict reward will activate dopamine systems, leading the organism to elicit approach type behaviours towards the stimuli and finding the stimuli more interesting than other stimuli. This also works the same for aversive stimuli. Dopamine is a core component of incentive type learning. Dopamine also plays an important role in movement (e.g., Parkinsonism).

This is not to say that dopamine can't also mediate pleasure in some respects. One group has suggested neurologically distinct reward pathways; one dopamine dependent based upon deprivation state, and one dopamine independent based upon non-deprived states. Its unclear whether they thought the dopamine dependent reward pathway mediated a hedonic/pleasureable experience or not. I haven't seen this idea resurface in recent years.

Other receptors involved with response to pleasurable stimuli are opiate, serotonin, noradrenaline, oxytocin, cannabinoid receptors etc. Maybe a better way to look at it is through functional anatomy. I think the shell of the Nucleus Accumbens is a place of interest mediating the quality/intensity of pleasure as a discrete feeling.

Dopamine receptors are more densely located on neurons in limbic regions e.g., Ventral Tegmental Area, Nucleus Accumbens, Hippocampus, Amygdala, Substantia Nigra and Striatum. The Ventral Tegmental Area projects to the Nucleus Accumbens and also projects to the Prefrontal Cortex reflecting its role in motivation and mood. The five types of dopamine receptors are currently classified into D1-like, which includes D1 and D5, and D2-like, which includes D2 D3 D4. D1-like receptors stimulate cAMP, whereas D2 receptors inhibit cAMP. Although both receptors types need to be activated together to notice some behavioural effects with stimlants. Antipsychotic efficacy is based on its actions at D2 receptors. There is some thought at the moment that blockade of D2 receptors will inhibit the acquisition of incentive learning, while blockade of D3 receptors will inhibit expression of incentive learning (the D3 stuff hasn't been shown yet, I think, or its just coming out). This most likely happens through complex interactions with GABAergic and Glutamatergic neurons at the level of the cortex.

There is nothing to suggest that each of the five types mediates a different sensory rewarding experience.

Wow Orbz, either your great at talking the biz and should be a salesman, or you really should look at a career in neurology!

Respect dude, I wish I had your knowledge to begin to think about how my experiences could relate to the biological maze that is the brain.

Currently in the neuropharmacology/neurophysiology field, its where I'd like to stay for a while. Plus I've been reading papers on dopamine circuitry all week.

Its part of the reason I'm in the field I'm in. How do small amounts of chemical change people's perceptions, emotions, feelings, thoughts, and from this what can we learn about how the brain functions?

I'd really like to find out the biological basis for feelings of impending doom that can accompany some jellyfish stings.

Really? So theres a massive release/reaction of something which causes depression or panic, I'd love to see the source, it sounds interesting.