Doctors' Notes: Dopamine
What's Up Docs?
BBC
4.4 • 659 Ratings
🗓️ 9 December 2025
⏱️ 22 minutes
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Summary
Chris and Xand continue their conversation about dopamine with Masud Husain, Professor of Neurology & Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Oxford. They explore how he first became interested in dopamine, what happens when dopamine systems become overactive, underactive, or disrupted, and whether we have any real control over our dopamine at all. Masud also shares the one thing he wishes everyone understood about dopamine.
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Presenters: Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken Guest: Professor Masud Husain Producer: Maia Miller-Lewis Executive Producer: Rami Tzabar Editor: Jo Rowntree Researcher: Grace Revill Tech Lead: Reuben Huxtable Social Media: Leon Gower Digital Lead: Richard Berry Composer: Phoebe McFarlane Sound Design: Melvin Rickarby
At the BBC: Assistant Commissioner: Greg Smith Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:07.5 | It's like going into an ice path with your hands as the ice. |
| 0:10.8 | In 2025, we were here for the entertainment. |
| 0:13.8 | Ellis and John. |
| 0:14.9 | Have you not considered just coffee, which is what I do? |
| 0:17.6 | Sightracked with Annie and Nick. |
| 0:19.4 | Stevie Wonder, welcome. I'm pleasure. Loyal Carnar is with us. Want to hear all about Glastonbury. And Celebrity Traitors Uncloaked. Welcome to Uncloaked, Ireland. Oh, thanks for having me, Ed. The winner. I know, still hasn't sunk in. Get the best of 2025 with podcasts on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:40.9 | Hello, welcome to Doctor's Notes. |
| 0:42.0 | I'm Chris Van Tilikan. |
| 0:44.2 | I'm joined by my identical twin brother. |
| 0:45.9 | That's me, Dr. Sand. |
| 0:50.2 | And we have just finished recording an interview with Professor Massoud Hussein. |
| 0:56.0 | He's a neurologist and a professor of neurology and cognitive neuroscience at the University of Oxford. We've been talking about dopamine, the neurotransmitter, what it is, what it does, what role it plays in our brains and bodies, |
| 1:04.0 | why it's become a buzzword in wellness culture from dopamine hits and spikes to dopamine detoxes. |
| 1:12.9 | And in the main episode, |
| 1:15.3 | Massoud really helped us understand |
| 1:18.4 | that when you do a thing that is pleasurable or rewarding, |
| 1:23.5 | when you're experiencing that pleasure, |
| 1:25.9 | that is not because of dopamine. |
| 1:27.7 | That's not the dopamine spike. |
| 1:29.7 | But there is some evidence that when you experience new pleasure, you can get a dopamine spike. |
| 1:38.5 | And the next time you are reminded of that pleasure, the dopamine spike is what motivates you to go and seek it. |
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