nah, that might not. But you may notice that almost all (if not all) neurotransmitters are hormones but not all hormones are neurotransmitters. Say, the hormone oxitocin which releases birth pain is a neurotransmitter while such hormone as estrogen is not. However your 'Finnish researcher' may try to turn it into neurotransmitter too -  he/she first should put ovaries into the brain ot dunno, glue them to the spinal cord and see what happen
:)
Have you ever thought about writing a book of comics called Semi-hormones or how our brain works?
:)
and publish it on the Lulu site (which is the best place for people struggling with graphomania and has, i believe, just been mentioned in this thread?)

Biotic entities are conservative.  They tend to latch onto something, such as Dopamine-as-hormone, and since the stuff is floating around - note the technical terminology!  ;-) - it gets used for other things.  Dopamine in its homeostasic role had to precede its use as a neuro-transmitter -- since it's hard for a species to evolve a Central Nervous System if all the individual members of that species are dead.  

I note the thalamus has been around far longer than higher brain functioning.

Thus there may have been co-evolution going on with D-as-H (body side) promoting D-as-NT (brain side) being used by the thalamus - the lazy sod - to keep things simple.

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre