NationStates Jolt Archive

excellent, i'll stop worrying about smashing my head on the bar top the other day. the lumps almost gone down now anyway and the skin's healing nicely.

A small part of the brain called an insula may control addictions and when damaged, the addictions may go away. This provides an interesting look at what may get people to take whatever drug they do and may prove that it isn;t really their choice, but some little spot in the brain.

Link (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070125/ap_on_he_me/smoking_brain_damage)

WASHINGTON - Damage to a silver dollar-sized spot deep in the brain seems to wipe out the urge to smoke, a surprising discovery that may shed important new light on addiction.

The research was inspired by a stroke survivor who claimed he simply forgot his two-pack-a-day addiction _ no cravings, no nicotine patches, not even a conscious desire to quit.

"The quitting is like a light switch that went off," said Dr. Antoine Bechara of the University of Southern California, who scanned the brains of 69 smokers and ex-smokers to pinpoint the region involved. "This is very striking."

Clearly brain damage isn't a treatment option for people struggling to kick the habit.

But the finding, reported in Friday's edition of the journal Science, does point scientists toward new ways to develop anti-smoking aids by targeting this little-known brain region called the insula. And it sparked excitement among addiction specialists who expect the insula to play a key role in other addictions, too.

"It's a fantastic paper, it's a fantastic finding," said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and a longtime investigator of the brain's addiction pathways.

"What this study shows unequivocally is the insula is a key structure in the brain for perceiving the urges to take the drug," urges that are "the backbone of the addiction," Volkow added.

Why? The insula appears to be where the brain turns physical reactions into feelings, such as feeling anxious when your heart speeds up. When those reactions are caused by a particular substance, the insula may act like sort of a headquarters for cravings.

Some 44 million Americans smoke, and the government says more than 400,000 a year die of smoking-related illnesses. Declines in smoking have slowed in recent years, making it unlikely that the nation will reach a public health goal of reducing the rate to 12 percent by 2010.

Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known, and it's common for smokers to suffer repeated relapses when they try to quit.

So imagine Bechara's surprise at hearing a patient he code-named "Nathan" note nonchalantly that "my body forgot the urge to smoke" right after his stroke.

At the time, Bechara was at the University of Iowa studying the effects of certain types of brain damage after strokes or other injury. While Nathan was hospitalized, stroke specialists sent his information to that brain registry. He was 38, had smoked since 14, said he enjoyed it and had had no intention to quit. But his last puff was the night before his stroke. His surprised wife said he never even asked for a smoke while in the hospital.

It's not unusual for a health scare to prompt an attempt at quitting. "That's the quitting that's not as interesting," Bechara said.

Instead, Nathan experienced what Bechara calls a "disruption of smoking addiction," and he wanted to know why.

Bechara and colleagues culled their brain-damage registry for 69 patients who had smoked regularly before their injuries. Nineteen, including Nathan, had damage to the insula. Thirteen of the insula-damaged patients had quit smoking, 12 of them super-easily: They quit within a day of the brain injury, and reported neither smoking nor even feeling the urge since then.

Of the remaining 50 patients with damage in other brain regions, 19 quit smoking but only four met the broken-addiction criteria.

If Bechara's findings are validated, they suggest that developing drugs that target the insula might help smokers quit. There are nicotine receptors in the insula, meaning it should be possible to create a nicotine-specific drug, Bechara said _ albeit years from now.

More immediately, NIDA's Volkow wants to try a different experiment: Scientists can temporarily alter function of certain brain regions with pulses of magnetic energy, called "transcranial magnetic stimulation." She wants to see if it's possible to focus such magnetic pulses on the insula, and thus verify its role.

Other neurologic functions are known to be involved with addiction, too, such as the brain's "reward" or pleasure pathways. The insula discovery doesn't contradict that work, but adds another layer to how addiction grips the brain, Bechara said.

Everything bad in the world can be traced back to brains. Brains are satanic. :mad:

A small part of the brain called an insula may control addictions and when damaged, the addictions may go away. This provides an interesting look at what may get people to take whatever drug they do and may prove that it isn;t really their choice, but some little spot in the brain.

Link (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070125/ap_on_he_me/smoking_brain_damage)

So the administrations implicit stance on everything is right? A fully functioning brain is a bad thing?

Please tell me they are not suggesting brain damage as a cure for addiction. I've got a great plan for quiting addiction: STOP TAKING THE DAMN DRUG!

If you need help, that's fine. But stop it!

I mean, if you're quitting heroin, you're probably wanna be unconcious (As I heard it's painful.) so go to the hospital and see if they can help. Or something.

Please tell me they are not suggesting brain damage as a cure for addiction. I've got a great plan for quiting addiction: STOP TAKING THE DAMN DRUG!

If you need help, that's fine. But stop it!

I mean, if you're quitting heroin, you're probably wanna be unconcious (As I heard it's painful.) so go to the hospital and see if they can help. Or something.

I guess that explains why they use morphine to get you off it.

As for brain damage to get rid of it, I think they're thinking of somehow drugging the insula to not want other drugs...:confused:

Please tell me they are not suggesting brain damage as a cure for addiction. I've got a great plan for quiting addiction: STOP TAKING THE DAMN DRUG!

If you need help, that's fine. But stop it!

I mean, if you're quitting heroin, you're probably wanna be unconcious (As I heard it's painful.) so go to the hospital and see if they can help. Or something.

sounds easy, it's not though.

sounds easy, it's not though.

Yeah, but I have a feeling that messing around with the brain might have even more dire consequences. Obviously, it would require further research to determine if that's the case, but working on the brain has some serious risks if the effects are still unknown.

Yeah, but I have a feeling that messing around with the brain might have even more dire consequences. Obviously, it would require further research to determine if that's the case, but working on the brain has some serious risks if the effects are still unknown.

I agree.

I wonder if this works for sex/internet addiction too...

That's a good question; I imagine it would hinge on whether or not this area of the brain is chemical/physical-dependent (in other words, the things that trigger it have to be chemical or physical in origin) or if it responds to any kind of stimulus like visible images or sounds.

Yeah, but I have a feeling that messing around with the brain might have even more dire consequences. Obviously, it would require further research to determine if that's the case, but working on the brain has some serious risks if the effects are still unknown.

I agree. Who knows what else that part of your brain controls. Altering one's personality may have unintended consequences.

Of course, I also think people should have the choice. Just as long as their is an extensive trial period to assess all side effects.

What's wrong with minor brain damage to stop habits? Still, if they can develop a drug that targets the part of the brain that causes addiction, they can effectively wipe out addictions in America. Of course, the drug companies are going to want to charge an arm and a leg for it or kill it in committee and no one will ever get it.

A small part of the brain called an insula may control addictions and when damaged, the addictions may go away. This provides an interesting look at what may get people to take whatever drug they do and may prove that it isn;t really their choice, but some little spot in the brain.

Link (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070125/ap_on_he_me/smoking_brain_damage)

I wonder if this works for sex/internet addiction too...

What's wrong with minor brain damage to stop habits? Still, if they can develop a drug that targets the part of the brain that causes addiction, they can effectively wipe out addictions in America. Of course, the drug companies are going to want to charge an arm and a leg for it or kill it in committee and no one will ever get it.

A drug that makes you not addicted to drugs. I can see the sales pitch now.

"Just take this pill every day and your cravings will vanish. You too can find peace and contentment in this perfect miracle pill. Desire cocaine? You'll be happy to do without it. Crave chocolate? This pill is all you need. Miss your kids? What kids?! The ones that are crying about having to go to school? Give them this pill and they won't care whether they come home or not."

A drug that makes you not addicted to drugs. I can see the sales pitch now.

"Just take this pill every day and your cravings will vanish. You too can find peace and contentment in this perfect miracle pill. Desire cocaine? You'll be happy to do without it. Crave chocolate? This pill is all you need. Miss your kids? What kids?! The ones that are crying about having to go to school? Give them this pill and they won't care whether they come home or not."


:D Perfect! And I bet every parent would want this drug if it were pitched like that! hehe

A drug that makes you not addicted to drugs. I can see the sales pitch now.

"Just take this pill every day and your cravings will vanish. You too can find peace and contentment in this perfect miracle pill. Desire cocaine? You'll be happy to do without it. Crave chocolate? This pill is all you need. Miss your kids? What kids?! The ones that are crying about having to go to school? Give them this pill and they won't care whether they come home or not."

So it's opium?

So it's opium?

Or soma...

Or soma...

Doesn't sound like the effects of ephedra and pot.

Doesn't sound like the effects of ephedra and pot.

I meant the stuff in Brave New World...