Where Addiction Lies
From Scientific American MIND July 2005
Where Addiction Lies
By Nicole Garbarini
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When smokers satisfy their urge for a cigarette, they dampen their mental resistance to addiction. Researchers at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor imaged smokers' cerebral blood flow as they puffed on a cigarette after a night of nicotine abstinence. They also took images as the subjects smoked a low-nicotine cigarette. Comparing the two images removed signs of activity related to the non-nicotine aspects of smoking, leaving a map of pure nicotine stimulation. The drug intake increases blood flow in areas rich in nicotine receptors. But it also decreased blood flow in areas involved in memory formation and regions that normally moderate drug-seeking behavior.
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Photos were included but not required to understand the ideas.
I was a smoker; I have quit for 3 years now. I do recall that when I smoked I thought I was doing it because I wanted to and I thought I did not want to quit. I did not consider there could be a physical reason that made me not want to try quitting. I have felt somewhat like a hypocrite since I quit which most people find weird.
How many other addictive behaviors have a physical cycle that makes the abuser not want to stop? What about drinking, overeating, maybe gamboling?
This is much too simple but I have found it to be 100% true.
If you have a problem simply stop doing it and you will not have the problem anymore. Change does not take time it happens in a instant, you just have to make it happen. Anyone I tell this to gets mad. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]
No I'm not perfect, far from it, but I get motivated to change by knowing the reasons I do the dumb things I do. And thought I would share it, and maybe learn some new reasons from others here. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
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