Scientists are not sure how dopamine affects human behavior, but they know it does. Low dopamine levels correlate with addiction. Dopamine receptors reside between the neurons they send information to, and these sites also help the receiving neuron acquire the information. Certain dopamine receptors manage risk-taking decisions. Dopamine also may feed the brain's craving for positive reward by slowly changing behaviors to satisfy that desire -- the brain remembers what actions caused what emotion and influences our behavior in an attempt to experience it again.

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