Analogous to what happens in the dorsal striatum, elevating dopamine in the ventral striatum makes it more sensitive to incoming bids, increasing the likelihood that it will activate motivational and emotional states. In fact, common side effects of L-dopa treatment include heightened emotional states, hypersexuality, and compulsive and addictive behaviors, such as gambling, shopping, drug abuse, and binge eating.30 These are called impulse control disorders because people lose the ability to keep their basic impulses in check.
impulse control disorders due to too much dopamine
