the addictive brain - welcome to the olli at uci blog · 2017. 1. 31. · the addictive brain sc...
TRANSCRIPT
THE ADDICTIVE BRAIN
SC 212 JANUARY 31, 2017
JOHN BUSH
BEHAVIORAL ADDICTIONS
• Definition: Persistent continuation of a problem behavior despite significant negative consequences
• Any activity that hyperstimulates the brain reward circuit may lead to addiction
• Candidate behavioral addictions – Problem gambling --Food bingeing (Obesity) – Video gaming --Internet gaming – Aerobic physical exercise --Working – Shopping --Viewing pornography – Cell phone abuse --On-line sexting – Sexual intercourse
DVD LECTURE ELEVEN
THE GAMBLER’S BRAIN
DVD LECTURE TWELVE
JUNK FOOD, PORN, VIDEO GAMES – ADDICTIONS?
• BREAK
GAMBLING: A SUMMARY
• Gambling: putting something of value at risk in the expectation of gaining greater value
• Pathological gambling and drug addiction share a number of similarities – fMRI evidence for enhanced response of pathological
gamblers to gambling cues – Dopamine is involved: dopamine agonists increase
likelihood of pathological gambling – Control by prefrontal cortex is reduced among
pathological gamblers – Pathological gambling is more than 62% heritable
COMPONENTS OF THE REWARD SYSTEM
NEUROTRANSMITTERS
Dopamine
Glutamate
GABA
Serotonin
Acetylcholine
Δ FosB: SIGN OF ADDICTION
• Formation of ΔFosB leads to long term changes in the brain
• The more prolonged and intense the exposure to a problem behavior the greater the concentration of ΔFosB in the brain
• ΔFosB concentration decreases relatively slowly with time
• ΔFosB can be detected in human addicts in a post mortem examination
EVIDENCE OF BEHAVIORAL ADDICTION
• Observation of behavior patterns • Response to pharmaceutical interventions • Detection of ΔFosB • Functional MRI • Positron emission tomography • Addiction transfer
CANDIDATE BEHAVIORAL ADDICTIONS
• Problem gambling • Video gaming • Internet gaming • Cell phone abuse • Aerobic physical exercise * • Compulsive working • Food bingeing (Obesity)* • Compulsive shopping • Hypersexuality* • Viewing pornography
CAN OTHER NATURAL PLEASURES HYPERSTIMULATE THE REWARD CIRCUIT?
• Aesthetic stimuli • Social stimuli • Religious stimuli
RELIGIOUS JOY
SOME FINAL THOUGHTS • Addictive Behavior: compulsive continuation
of a behavior despite truly negative consequences
• Some people are genetically more susceptible to addiction than others
• There is literally something physically and chemically different in the brains of addicts