Posted by Ines on March 3, 2007, at 11:07:12
In reply to Re: 'Addict brain 'designed for drugs'', posted by Phillipa on March 2, 2007, at 11:12:55
> Merri so your study is saying a brain is wired to be addicted to substances and gambling and dopamine lack of is the culprit. So which USA meds are dopamine? Isn't wellbutrin one? Hey remember I'm trying to learn. Love Phillipa
Hi Phillipa,
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the brain, like serotonin or noradrenalin (norepinephrin). The theory goes that depressed people have less of one (or all) of these neurotransmitters circulating in the brain. The brain releases dopamine in response to pleasurable stimuli like having sex or winning at gambling, and you get a high. What the study is saying is that people who have less dopamine circulating in the brain get addicted to gambling (or cocaine) more easily. Presumably because they have less of a 'natural high' (if you can put it that way), the high they get from gambling or cocaine is more rewarding to them. I think it's a bit like eating chocolate when you feel down in the dumps- and you eat the whole bar- vs when you feel happy- and you can stop after a couple of squares (I know that's true for me!). A few antidepressants interfere directly with dopamine circuits in the brain- Wellbutrin is one of them, and I'm pretty sure MAOIs do too. But because dopamine highs are so addictive it's difficult to create safe meds that act directly on dopamine. Most antidepressants increase mainly serotonin and/or noradrenalin in the brain- but it's possible that they act indirectly on dopamine, I think there's some debate around that.
It's quite a cool study!
Ines
poster:Ines
thread:737546
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070302/msgs/737927.html