Inside the Brain Mafia: How Dopamine and Motivation Get Hijacked

Psst! Over here!...Yes you! The one who once devoured an entire frozen pizza straight out of the fridge...What were you thinking?

What am I talking about? “Get out of my screen”? Hold on, hold on, I’m trying to help you. I know your actions aren’t entirely your fault but you don’t know that yet. Here’s the thing: this whole time, someone has been controlling you. Various someones...and they’ve been collaborating. I’m here to tell you the truth so listen to me very carefully. The ones controlling you, the ones that fed you lies and pizza like a manipulative ex, they go by one name...the Brain Mafia.

Yeah, this is no joke! There’s a whole underground group smuggling dope(amine) in your brain, running mind control ops, and making millions off of it. The illusion of control is part of the design. They want you to think it’s all you, but every thought you have and every decision you make is all getting influenced by these guys. Let me tell you about them.

The Big Boss: Ventral Tegmental Area (aka. VTA)

It all starts with the big guy, VTA. He’s well connected and always on the phone with his top clients - Rewarding Stimuli. A cat video, the warmth of a long-needed hug, you know the type. Each one calls in with a different offer he just can’t refuse.

(Ring ring)

VTA: What’s up?

RS: Ayy, VTA, my man, how you been? Listen, I got something real nice for ya.

VTA: You better make it worth my time. What you got?

RS: Premium, top-shelf stuff. You ever heard of chocolate cake?

VTA: Of course, but I need details. Fresh? Tasty?

RS: My dude…it’s warm, it’s gooey, the frosting is thick. First bite? Straight-up dynamite.

VTA: Hmm… you got my attention.

RS: That’s what I thought. So, what’s it gonna be?

VTA: Alright, alright, sending the shipment now.

(click)

The operation is in motion. Dopamine immediately gets shipped to VTA’s most loyal henchmen Nucleus Accumbens (aka. NAcc), Prefrontal Cortex (PFC) and the Limbic System and just like that, your free will is as good as gone.

The Enforcer: Nucleus Accumbens (NAcc)

Now, the Nucleus Accumbens...is not the wrinkliest of brain parts, if you know what I mean. There’s only one thought between those neurons

I want it and I’m gonna get it.

The moment he gets his dopamine shipment he’s like

This is GOOD! We need more of this! Let’s do it now and again and again!

And that’s the thing, NAcc is all about reinforcement. If something gives him dopamine, he makes sure he remembers it and then reminds you of it every single time he sees it, kind of like an annoying kid. But not only is he annoying he’s also a big coward. One bad experience with a Stimulus and he’s immediately like

That sucked ass! Never doing that again! Let’s stick to what gives us easy dopamine.

He doesn’t even have to have a bad experience. If he just thinks there’s a good chance something goes wrong, he will not want to do it, ever.

This is why you procrastinate and why you don’t feel motivated to do tough and boring things. You were going to start working, but NAcc spotted an easier dopamine source, so he rerouted your whole system to chase that instead. And trust me, once NAcc makes up his mind there’s no arguing with him. Unless… you can get the next guy on your side.

The Strategy Master: Prefrontal Cortex (PFC)

Ah, Prefrontal Cortex, the cold, calculated strategist. The brains of the Brain Mafia. He might not be the strongest one in the group, but he’s definitely the smartest. PFC is the one thinking long-term, responsible for self-control, willpower, and decision-making. He also assigns value to actions and tries to keep everyone in check, especially NAcc.

He’s seen NAcc ruin many lives before, turning people like you into dopamine junkies, chasing instant gratification while their lives fall apart. So, PFC often tries to take control. He’s like:

Listen, NAcc. I get it, you want that dopamine, we all do. But we gotta think bigger. Short-term fun ain’t gonna cut it forever. We gotta play it smart and chase the kinda dopamine that’s actually gonna get us somewhere.

However, if NAcc gets too many dopamine shipments, he becomes cocky and starts completely ignoring PFC.

I know what I’m doing. You ain’t even getting half the shipments as me so shut up!

And let’s be real, the only way for Prefrontal Cortex to get NAcc’s respect is to hit the gym. NAcc doesn’t care about no nerd’s opinion. In his world power is all that counts. So, if PFC trains up and gets stronger, suddenly their conversation might go much differently.

NAcc (lounging on a couch, tossing a stress ball): Heh, what’s up, PFC? You here to give me another lecture about ‘discipline’ and ‘delayed gratification’?

PFC: Nahh, I’m here to put you in your place.

NAcc (lounging on a couch, tossing a stress ball):

Hold up. What happened to you? You been hittin’ the gym or something?!

PFC: (cracking knuckles, stepping closer):

Every day, baby. While you were out there chasing quick hits, I was busy lifting weights.

NAcc: Aight, just chill bro...

PFC: I’m sick of your chilling! You’ve been running this operation unchecked for far too long, wasting dopamine on cheap thrills! But guess what? I rerouted the shipments. Dopamine’s going to better investments now.

NAcc: Woah, what?! Where’s my supply?

PFC (grabs NAcc by the collar): Listen up, dopamine junkie! From now on, we earn our hits. Exercise. Studying. No more mindless scrolling, you got it?

NAcc:…You serious?

PFC: Dead serious.

NAcc: Alright, alright, we’ll do things your way… just let me go, bruh.

PFC (releases him): Deal.

NAcc: If we don’t get at least some fun, I’m gonna riot though.

PFC: Balance, my guy. We work hard, we play hard, but we get our dopamine the smart way.

NAcc: Whatever, man, just keep the shipments coming.

PFC: Aight, now get up, we got work to do.

However, there is still one more member who can completely ruin PFC’s plans.

The Survival Specialist: Limbic System

The Limbic System has one job: keeping the gang alive. He looks for danger, protects the group, and assigns emotional significance to rewards and threats which guide future motivation. He can be a little too paranoid though.

Okay, the exam’s in three days. That’s like… basically no time at all. Why didn’t I start studying earlier? Oh wait, I did. But what if I didn’t study ENOUGH?! What if the professor throws in some weird trick questions just to mess with us? Oh no! I should check my notes. Again. And again...times ten. Just in case. This exam could KILL US!

If PFC can’t calm him down, guess who takes over? That’s right - NAcc. And what does NAcc do when he’s stressed? Runs straight to easy dopamine. So now, instead of facing the problem, you’re binging Netflix, eating a whole tub of ice cream by yourself, or scrolling TikTok. Not because you’re lazy, but because Brain Mafia hijacked your motivation and made your mind run on survival mode. That’s why it’s super important to know how to manage your negative emotions, whether it be through journaling, therapy, walks, or other emotional processing techniques. The better you handle them, the less control the Limbic system has over you

Those were the main guys however there are two more key members we still need to talk about.

The Memory Expert: Hippocampus (Hippo)

Good ol’ Hippo, he keeps the records on every job they’ve ever done. Well… not every job. See, Hippo decides what’s worth remembering and if a deal didn’t go well, he’s the first to say

Forget about it, boys! That one’s a dead end!

He already knows what worked and what didn’t and if a bad client shows up again, he’s like

What are we even doing here?

Take Exercise, for example. Hippo’s seen that guy come around three times already, pitching the same old “let’s start running and get in shape” schtick. And what happened? They ran for 3 days. On day 4 the gang thought about running but it was raining so they decided to do it the next day. The day after they decided to give themselves a break and from there on, they never ran again. No dopamine = no payoff = waste of time. It’s back to doomscrolling!

But here’s the thing, Hippo loves novelty. If Exercise switches up the pitch and offers yoga or weightlifting instead of running, now it can get Hippo interested.

Huh, haven’t tried that before. Maybe there’s somethin’ there…

Even so, the old reliable clients like Youtube, Gaming and Doomscrolling are greatly preferred. Hippo knows their track record. If you want to win him over, you gotta make the new deal feel fresh, exciting, and worth remembering.

The Pain & Pleasure Enforcer: Opioid System (Oppo)

Oppo is a bit of a wild card, but he’s the most resilient dude in the crew. While the rest of the guys are all about pleasure, Oppo has a 'no pain, no gain' attitude.

You know how the last few pushups always feel like hell but leave you feeling good after? That’s Oppo’s doing. He’s always looking for just the right combination of pain and pleasure. If things are too easy, he gets no reward. If things are too hard, he quits too early. But when they’re perfectly balanced that’s when he gets a rush. The other guys don’t get him. They think Oppo’s kinda weird, but in reality, he’s just built different.

The more effortless pleasure the gang gets, the more Oppo lowers the amount of dopamine. Once the gang realizes that they’re losing pleasure they start whining and asking for even more shipments. That’s how addictions start. If you avoid pain too much Oppo will make sure you become apathetic, and destroy your motivation. If you experience too much pain, he’ll start working with the Limbic System and NAcc to get the whole group to abandon the mission.

So, what do we do about this?

How do we fight the Brain Mafia? Simple - divide and conquer. We need to make them work against each other and even against themselves.

Before anything else, we need to get the Limbic System to stop panicking. As long as he’s in fight-or-flight mode, there’s no reasoning with him and no beating the gang. The quickest way to calm him down is controlled breathing:

• Box Breathing: Inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4, repeat.

• 4-7-8 Breathing: Inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 7, exhale for 8, repeat.

These techniques lower heart rate and signal safety to the brain. If that’s not enough, we can always try cold showers, walks, journaling, venting, laughing, etc. Staying calm under stress helps us not to fall into self-sabotage.

Hippo hates repeating failed missions. If a task feels like a past failure he’ll shut it down. This is why we need to make it feel new. If we’re talking about studying for example:

• Study in a different room.

• Switch from sitting to pacing while reading.

• Change the time of day.

• Use a new method (flashcards instead of notes)

Pleasure without struggle is worthless to our Opioid System. This is why mindless tasks make us feel empty and a challenge that almost beats us feels great. We have to find a sweet spot.

• Adjust workout intensity so it’s tough but doable.

• Set micro-goals that push your limits without breaking you.

The more we resist short-term distractions, the more swole our Prefrontal Cortex becomes. And we want our PFC to become a beast. Over time, he’ll stop letting Nucleus Accumbens chase cheap thrills and this will lead to:

• Better impulse control.

• More long-term thinking.

• Less getting dragged around by cravings and urges.

At the end of the day, the Brain Mafia isn’t going anywhere. These guys will keep chasing underground dopamine because that’s just what they’re wired to do. The trick is making sure that they chase the right things.

So, at this point, you have two choices:

1. Let them run wild and pull you toward empty pleasures.

2. Step up, take control, and make them work for you.

So, what’s it gonna be? Are you gonna roll over and let them have their way or are you going to fight back and take control of your brain?

Euralēthia

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