Dopamine ‘doping’ for power output

Dopamine is a well known neurotransmitter often associated with the brain's reward system, and has also been srudied for its role in controlling skeletal muscle mass and force production. Some papers have shown that the activation of dopamine receptors, particularly dopamine 1 and dopamine 5 receptors, directly influence skeletal muscle physiology in some pretty cool ways.

One key mechanism through which dopamine affects skeletal muscle is by increasing muscle mass and force production. Research indicates that dopamine receptors can modulate cAMP levels in skeletal muscle. Activation of D1 and D5 receptors has been shown to increase cAMP levels, which in turn can promote muscle growth and enhance force production. This suggests that dopamine signaling can have a direct impact on the size and strength of skeletal muscles through cAMP mediated pathways.

Here’s a brief overview of how cAMP relates to muscle cell physiology:

In muscle cell physiology, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (aka cAMP) can stimulate muscle growth and hypertrophy by activating protein kinase A and other downstream signaling pathways. PKA phosphorylation of target proteins leads to gene expression changes that promote muscle protein synthesis, growth, and adaptation to resistance training stimuli.

cAMP signaling is essential for the determination of muscle fiber types as well. Different patterns of cAMP signaling can influence the expression of specific muscle fiber type genes, leading to the development of slow twitch or fast-twitch muscle fibers with distinct metabolic and contractile capabilities. This is obviously determine by the way in which you train, but cAMP (and dopamine) play a central role here.

cAMP signaling in muscle cells regulates metabolic pathways that control energy production and utilization. By activating enzymes involved in glycogen breakdown, glucose release, and lipid metabolism, cAMP will influence energy availability for muscle contractions and growth.

cAMP signaling also modulates calcium handling and contraction in muscle cells. It can affect the sensitivity of contractile proteins to calcium, thus influencing muscle force production and the efficiency of muscle contractions.

Back to dopamine — dopamine has also been found to regulate skeletal muscle tone by activating D1-like receptors on somatic motoneurons. This activation can influence motor outflow to skeletal muscles, thereby affecting muscle contraction and tone. By modulating the activity of motoneurons, dopamine will likely contribute to the regulation of muscle tone and coordination as well.

If you can extrapolate out a bit here and connect some dots, this could potentially have some interesting implications for treating chronic hyper-tonicity (‘tightness’).

Here’s an interesting paper titled ‘Dopamine Is Required for the Neural Representation and Control of Movement Vigor’ where authors conclude that ‘Progressive depletion of midbrain dopamine neurons (PDD) is associated with deficits in the initiation, speed, and fluidity of voluntary movement. Models of basal ganglia function focus on initiation deficits; however, it is unclear how they account for deficits in the speed or amplitude of movement (vigor). Using an effort-based operant conditioning task for head-fixed mice, we discovered distinct functional classes of neurons in the dorsal striatum that represent movement vigor. Mice with PDD exhibited a progressive reduction in vigor, along with a selective impairment of its neural representation in striatum. Restoration of dopaminergic tone with a synthetic precursor ameliorated deficits in movement vigor and its neural representation, while suppression of striatal activity during movement was sufficient to reduce vigor. Thus, dopaminergic input to the dorsal striatum is indispensable for the emergence of striatal activity that mediates adaptive changes in movement vigor. These results suggest refined intervention strategies for Parkinson's disease’

I really like the word ‘vigor’ here. As we’ll get into shortly, I think this is a really good word to describe the way dopaminergic drugs and supplements make me feel — ‘vigerous’

In the context of increasing receptor sensitivity or optimizing dopamine signaling for skeletal muscle health, several strategies can be considered. One approach is to focus on enhancing the sensitivity of dopamine receptors, particularly D1 receptors, to maximize the physiological effects of dopamine on skeletal muscle. While specific supplements that directly activate D1 receptors may not be readily available, certain compounds and practices have been shown to support dopamine signaling indirectly.

Lets get into some ways we can potentially do that. Please keep in mind that a lot of this information is theoretical (mainly gleaming insights from small papers) and anecdotal (pulling from some of my personal and clients experiences).

Forskolin — Forskolin is a natural compound extracted from the Indian Coleus plant that has been studied for its impact on cAMP levels and cellular signaling pathways. Forskolin's primary mechanism of action involves activating the enzyme adenylate cyclase, leading to increased CAMP production in cells. This increase in cAMP levels triggers a cascade of intracellular events that are importantl in muscle cell physiology as mentioned above. However, it also appears that forskolin can also increase can enhance dopamine receptor sensitivity and signaling. I remember taking forskolin in high school after reading about some of its benefit for enhanced fat loss. While I never noticed any of those benefits, I do remember noticing a fairly noteworthy increase in power output some of my box jumps and speed squats.

Sourcing and dosage: the ideal dosage appears to be somewhere around 400-600mg daily, taken ideally in the morning as it can increase energy levels. As always, it’s important to check with your physician before starting any supplements, especially if you’re currently taking medications or have a pre-existing condition.

https://amzn.to/4fucYky

Uridine monophosphate

Uridine monophosphate is a nucleotide that playe a role in synthesis of RNA and the regulation of certain cellular activities. There has been some interest in the potential effects of UMP on brain function and neurochemistry, including its influence on sensitizing dopamine receptors. Uridine seems to reliably improve feelings of well-being and motivation for me personally. It’s possible this is why it also appears to have some modest benefits for improving power output and reaction time. I tend to notice some slight improvements in motor control and reaction time, specifically when I’m training quick GCT plyo’s like the lateral box hops.

Dosage: 150-300mg daily, ideally in the morning. Nootropics are always best avoided if you’re on psychoactive drugs and meditations, especially SSRI’s.

L-tyrosine mega-dose

L-tyrosine is a well known amino acid that serves as a precursor to several important neurotransmitters, including dopamine. tyrosine is converted into L-dopa

by the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase. This is the rate-limiting step in the production of dopamine, meaning it is the slowest and thus controls the overall rate of

dopamine synthesis. I’ve had some amazing results using high doses of L-tyrosine (somewhere between 3-4grams) for power output. This does tend to be a little hit or miss though. Mean it works well on some days and not on others for reasons unknown. Tyrosine can increase cortisol levels, so if you’re prone to anxiety this may not be an ideal supplement for you. It’s often recommended to start ‘low and slow’ with 1g to assess tolerance. You can move up from there if desired. Tyrosine can also replenish catecholamine levels in the brain (which are often depleted by stress). So it’s a bit of a paradox and will likely depend on your unique biochemistry.

Brand: bulk supplements

Bromatane

Bromantane is a powerful synthetic Russian compound that has been studied for its power adaoptogenic benefits. It is known to influence several neurotransmitter

systems, including dopamine.Bromantane is believed to inhibit the reuptake of dopamine. By blocking the dopamine transporter (DAT), it prevents the reabsorption of dopamine back into presynaptic neurons, thereby increasing the concentration of dopamine in the synaptic cleft and enhancing dopaminergic signaling.

Bromatane (in my experience) is probably the most powerful compound listed in this article. Anecdotal results are often mixed, but I’ve had some really great experiences using bromatane for improving jumps and plyometrics.

Brand and dosing: the ideal dose appears to be somewhere around 50mg daily, ideally in the morning since it’s stimulating.

https://cosmicnootropic.com/products/ladasten/

Additionally, certain nutritional supplements and dietary practices may indirectly support dopamine signaling and receptor sensitivity. a balanced diet rich in nutrients like vitamin B6, folate, and iron are all involved in dopamine synthesis, and contribute to optimal dopamine function. Getting adequate sunlight is also extremely important for producing enough dopamine, particularly AM sunlight.

I also believe that exercise variation (especially if you tend to enjoy this in your training) can be another massive influencer that explains some of the benefits of increased novelty within the training environment. In my opinion, I think this outpaces a lot of the potential benefits you’d get from more consistent exposures (to certain exercises and movements). Particularly if you’re using something like the bi-weekly split I often discuss. This involves the best of both worlds in my opinion — increased variation and novelty with ‘frequent enough (every 14 days) task exposures.