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A new study finds that alcoholic mice more readily form Pavlovian associations with addictive substances. Similar subconscious memories may haunt recovering addicts
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11 Comments
Add CommentHow do the findings reported here apply to the impact sugar has on the brain and it's inherent link to obesity?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAn interesting sidelight to this study: people in AA have said for decades that in recovery it is wise to avoid people, places, and things that were associated with past alcohol use. Further, that drugs are drugs, be it in the form of alcohol, heroin, cocaine, marijuana, it makes no difference. If a person is addicted to one the use of another almost always eventually leads to a relapse.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPersonally, as an addictions counselor for nearly 40 years, I have known many intelligent and well read addicts who have cited and chosen to believe those who claim that this "folk wisdom" is unfounded. An astounding number of these people are now dead.
Significant support for "gateway" hypotheses.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAuzzie, we have to remember that sugar taste appears to be related to nutrient need and evolved mechanism to maximize intake of such essentials as vitamin C and other nutrients associated with fruit.
We've coevolved with plants, many of which developed or enhanced production of this vital nutrient.
gathering calories required us to steadily use energy, and carbohydrates are a main source of plants' energy production for themselves. So concentrating sugars in fruits enhanced their reproduction through enticing hungry dispersers (ourselves and others) was a relatively easy modification.
We are susceptible to obesity in part because of the necessity for storage, as the seasonal world could so opften be feast-or-famine. Remember that some migratory birds collect as much as 55% body fat before migration!
Science and observation is fun (addictive?), but to keep this comment short:
In youth I always wondered in a disgusted kind of way, why the content of conversation of alcohol and other drug users was enthusiastically and near-entirely about their intoxicated periods.
Most of these substance are neurotransmitter analogues, and replace their own natural production. Their brains, worlds, and life experiences are truly different as a result of any significant use.
Those of you with active and wide interests can only pity the narrow confines to which those who choose to use, subject themselves.
Sedentary cultures probably must always develop aberration based on self-overmedication. It may be that the oft-touted "exercise addiction" as well as the nutrient reward response, contribute both the original and proper dopamine-related neural response, which have been artificially co-opted, as it were, by substance use and abuse.
In most cases, humans are neither mice nor dogs. Unlike those animals, I've found that, to some extent at least, I am capable of conscious self-determination of my behavior, independent of any prior conditioned responses.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt smacks of arrogance to presume that your privileged position in this world is due to "self-determination" as opposed to blind luck. Your are free to take the position that addicts are to blame for their plight--but it is a point of view, along with all of this Libertarian nonsense, which utterly fails to provide any insight into the human condition. What is the cause of your situation in life? Free will, perhaps? And what is the cause of your free will? Either it is divinely endowed or it has arrived to you through chance. Perhaps you ought to be thankful that you weren't born as a dog, rather than reveling in this self-congratulatory drivel.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI assert that, since I can overcome the most insidious addictions, other humans can as well. I congratulate all who determine to succeed! I am most thankful that I'm not a dog or mouse and I pity all those who think they are.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI suppose I should be congratulated for my fortitude if at a ripe old age I staunchly resist the temptations of Alzheimer's Disease. As, I assert, it is I who am in complete control of my biology.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn fact, you are in control of your biology, especially in regard to degenerative diseases. Nothing destroys DNA like your own body's reaction to stress. Corticosteroids and adrenaline are part of the body's emergency response system and are activated when there is perceived or actual danger present. However, any emergency operational mode cannot possibly be without a price, otherwise we would all leave our bodies in emergency mode 24/7 and live like Mel Gibson in "Mad Max". Just as an antelope is expected to face a threat from a predator for a small percentage of its lifetime, we as humans, regardless of occupations, have the ability to anticipate and avoid problems, or be a drama queen and be confrontational about every little damned thing. No one can deny that a wanted criminal or a slum-dweller in S. Africa lives a stressful life when compared to say, a Canadian. But, perceived threat is the main cause of stress, and thus neurological degeneration. Some people shut their eyes or clench the arms of their chair when they are watching a horror movie. Is the movie an actual imminent threat? Is this the way they react to other problems in their lives? The corticosteroids that prepare your body for fight or flight should only be invoked in true emergencies. Therefore, Alzheimer's is the result of a vicious cycle of poor choices and short-sighted solutions.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBy "most insidious addictions", to which substance are you referring? As an ex-abuser of many substances myself, I have never come across one as impossible to overcome as POWER. Anyone who has ever been married will tell you that the love of control over other people's will, speech, and even tastes in fashion is so corrupting and so mind-altering, that no possibility exists to "detox" someone who has tasted the sweet nectar of power. And the speed at which the need for power accelerates is frightening. If you don't believe me, why don't you, in the interest of science, perform an experiment on yourself - marry a Jewish girl. Be sure to keep us updated on your consequent financial ruin.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYeah, I did some of that stuff for a while, as my grandkids and exstepgrandkids can attest...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thiscccampbell38 wrote, "If a person is addicted to one the use of another almost always eventually leads to a relapse."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHow about 'often' instead of 'almost always'? I think AA dogma is a very useful for lots of people -- for them, it is a reasonable and helpful approximation to reality -- but it is full of zealous over-generalizations like this one.
The problem with generalizing from personal experience is that anecdotal evidence is skewed by selection bias. Some addiction counselors and AA sponsors have greater experience with serial relapsers than with people who have managed to heal their substance abuse without adhering to the doctrines and practices of AA. These silently drift away from AA and allied groups, often because they are repelled by their exaggerated, unrealistic articles of faith. (The few studies which have explored this area show the non-AA and ex-AA to be be quiet majority of successful recoverers.)
I hope the science of addiction leads to a vindication of the best parts of AA -- cleaning house of empty and over-charged dogma. With much-needed reform and science-based rewriting, more "intelligent and well read" people with substance-abuse problems will be attracted to effective recovery practices.