The Dopamine Hypothesis Survives, but There Must Be a Way Ahead

Karl Popper has taught us that no hypothesis can be regarded as proved-merely as having survived the most stringent tests which have so far been devised. Dinan makes a further attempt to overthrow the dopamine hypothesis of the mechanism of the antipsychotic effect, and provides an alternative suggestion. As one time critic and later advocate of the theory, I think he underestimates its explanatory power and capacity for survival. I doubt that his alternative yet poses a serious challenge. I propose below a second (and perhaps more idiosyncratic) alternative. I do not claim it yet has the explanatory power of the dopamine theory, but I think it generates some new approaches.