Well the dopamine chemicals are on the 'Reward Pathway' of your brain, that pathway obviously allows you to feel happy, proud, etc. Most drugs, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, etc. mess with the dopamine exits of a cell in your brain, and cause you to feel that 'high', you feel invincible and on top of the world; it also temporarily gets rid of pain and struggles in your world because there is so much dopamine in the brain.Scintilla wrote:I thought there was a connection related to release of the neurotransmitter dopamine? And that levels of said neurotransmitter could provide some insight into why some people are more prone to addictions than others.BasharOfTheAges wrote:There's actually debate within the medical community on whether or not strict behavioral addictions (sex, gambling, etc.) are really addictions like chemical (drugs, alcohol, etc.) addictions are or if they're simply an offshoot of psychological dependence that plays into our collective cultural desire to play off personality flaws as medical problems.
But then, this was stuff I read once in a magazine something like 10 years ago.
But the addiction happens because your body craves the same dopamine in the brain that you had on that first 'high.' I suppose you could become addicted to gambling (etc.) because it can make it happy, but I'm not too sure if, in reality, the amount of dopamine staying in your brain is really that high for you to become addicted. Plus, there aren't really chemicals blocking dopamine receptors. I'm not quite sure.
