Interview February 2014
Stan Emert of Seattle Public TV Invited Dr. Sterling to Discuss Sterling's 2013 Book
By invitation, Stan Emert of Seattle Public TV interviewed me about my 2013 book. Unknown to me, a youtube user reposted the interview in 2016, which I did not discover until 2019. It was an inspirational surprise and it has received 272 comments and over 60K views.
I found the comments posted there to be very helpful for me to find out if the conclusions I reported in my book resonated with viewers. I recommend taking a quick look at the comments (or even a deep look) to view what has been said. However, comments you might make there will not also be posted here. Please feel free to comment and ask questions here.
The interview will give you information about the main conclusions reached in my 2013 book. Emert asks the question “Adult ADD, Illness, Condition, Or What?”
Note: I did not post this video, so I was not in control of the title it was given. At that time, and during that interview, the term “dopamine deficiency” was not my preferred language. It cannot be said that it is a deficiency condition. It can be said that it is a functionality issue that deeply affects working memory and other dopamine dependent processes, both inside and outside the central nervous system. Those functionality issues can be related to certain dopamine processes that cannot just be called deficiencies. It could be functionality of receptors, transporters, manufacturing, and presence inside or outside of nerve cells. Thus, a better language, for me, would be “baseline low free roaming dopamine.”
The only two video interviews I have done were created over 10 years ago. You might imagine that I would use a different and, likely “more accurate” language as I discovered new, relevant information that would influence the language that I used in this 2014 video.
You would be correct. What are the differences for me now? When it concerns dopamine functionality for working memory capabilities, the research literature has confirmed what I wrote about in 2013 — that baseline tonic dopamine, as opposed to phasic dopamine activity, is the key to working memory abilities. I did not use the term “tonic” as much as I should have in the 2014 interviews. However, if you take my recommended deeper dive into my 2013 book, you will find relevant information about how optimal (not below or above optimal) tonic dopamine is the key to working memory capacity. Since 2014, I have been referring to “tonic” dopamine as “free-roaming” dopamine.
Please feel free to ask questions and make comments.