--- title: Pot Blunts the Brain's Reaction to Dopamine description: Marijuana dulls your response to dopamine canonical: https://time.com/2982893/a-high-from-marijuana-is-really-the-opposite-in-your-brain/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-14T19:50:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T09:08:22.849Z article:section: Health og:title: A "High" From Marijuana Is Really the Opposite In Your Brain og:description: Marijuana dulls your response to dopamine og:url: https://time.com/2982893/a-high-from-marijuana-is-really-the-opposite-in-your-brain/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt58fe9afc66d58dd3/69869ba6810bbb7085c9296a/marijuana-smoking.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5184 og:image:height: 2916 og:image:alt: Daily Life In South Africa og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A "High" From Marijuana Is Really the Opposite In Your Brain twitter:description: Marijuana dulls your response to dopamine twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt58fe9afc66d58dd3/69869ba6810bbb7085c9296a/marijuana-smoking.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A 'High' From Marijuana Is Really the Opposite in Your Brain > Sponsored content. 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Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jul 14, 2014 7:50 PM UTC  A youth smokes marijuana in Soweto township, near Johannesburg, on July 2, 2013 A youth smokes marijuana in Soweto township, near Johannesburg, on July 2, 2013Christopher Furlong—Getty Images by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jul 14, 2014 7:50 PM UTC A new study suggests marijuana blunts the brain’s reaction to dopamine, making users less responsive to the chemical responsible for feelings of reward and pleasure. In the study [published Monday](http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/07/10/1411228111) in the journal _Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences_, the researchers studied the brains of 24 marijuana abusers — that is, people who smoked multiple times a day — and how they reacted to methylphenidate, a stimulant often used to treat ADHD and narcolepsy. Using personality tests and brain imaging, the researchers found the pot users had blunted behavioral, cardiovascular and brain responses to methylphenidate compared with control participants. Marijuana abusers scored lower on tests of positive emotional activity and higher on negative emotional reactions. The researchers believe that pot not only dampens the brains’ dopamine reaction to stimulants but also influences the area of the brain involved in reward processing. The participants had lower reward sensitivity, higher levels of irritability, and likely more depression and anxiety. The researchers conclude that the way pot interferes with the brain may contribute to drug cravings. 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