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Loss, but not absence, of control – How choice and addiction are related
In a recent post the notion that “loss of control” is an addiction myth was raised by our contributing author, Christopher Russell, a thoughtful graduate student studying substance abuse in the U.K. Though I obviously personally believe in control- and choice-relevant neurological mechanisms playing a part in addiction, this conversation is a common one both…
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Compulsive choices in addiction?
Is addiction an issue of bad choices or is it a case of biological, compulsive, necessity? If you know anything about me and my views, you know that I think little of anyone who tries to separate these. I see and talk to people all the time who are stuck in compulsive behavioral patterns but…
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Obesity, drug addiction, and dopamine
Eating junk-food can be addictive, and apparently, it causes brain changes that look eerily similar to drug addiction. That’s the message not only from the rapidly fattening waistlines of Americans everywhere, but also from the Johnson and Kenny labs at the Scripps Institute. Food and drug addiction The idea that obesity is caused by a…