Shoes, don't fail me now

You know the cheery look shoppers get when they hit the streets or malls ready for an invigorating day of shopping. Scientifically speaking, this upbeat state of mind is real.

Scientists believe shopping and joy are tied together chemically in the brain. It is all about possibilities, anticipation and the exhilaration of taking home something new. Shopping, even the less-costly window shopping, stimulates parts of the brain that boost people's mood and make thembuoyant.

The happiness or mood-lifting is tied to dopamine, a chemical in the brain linked to mental and physical health. Dopamine is released when people are excited or challenged. For a lot of people, shopping is full of those sentiments.

MRI studies of the brain, cited in the Wall Street Journal, detect surges in dopamine linked with the anticipation of shopping.

University of Kentucky researchers studied rats exploring unfamiliar compartments in cages, the laboratory equivalent of discovering a new store at the mall. Dopamine rose in the brain's reward center when a rat explored a new place.

Shopping is usually more fun on the upswing, because the anticipation wanes along with the excitement about all the things shoppers didn't buy.

The shopper also begins thinking about the downside of shopping — the expense and amount of time it will take to pay for the purchases.

In this season of retail indulgence, don't let such thoughts get in the way. Let the dopamine roll.