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dopamine

Medical Terms
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A chemical in the brain that helps control pleasure, motivation, and reward.

Detailed Definition
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure, anticipation, and reinforcement. Here it gives the speaker’s feelings a scientific explanation, turning attraction into something like a brain reaction rather than just an emotion.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Maybe it’s just a phase, a dopamine reaction” (contemporary-style example); “Dopamine rose with every promised prize” (scientific metaphor); “Not love alone, but dopamine and habit” (analytic lyric voice); “The poem questions whether desire is chemistry” (educational context)
Additional Notes
The quoted phrase uses a technical neuroscience word that is not part of everyday vocabulary for many readers.; Found in the poem, Love Junkie by Richard
Other Meanings of “dopamine”
Also Known As
pleasure chemical happiness hormone mood enhancer neurotransmitter
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