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Todd Hoff
The Likely Cause of Addiction Has Been Discovered, and It Is Not What You Think | Johann Hari - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/johann-...
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"So the opposite of addiction is not sobriety. It is human connection. When I learned all this, I found it slowly persuading me, but I still couldn't shake off a nagging doubt. Are these scientists saying chemical hooks make no difference? It was explained to me -- you can become addicted to gambling, and nobody thinks you inject a pack of cards into your veins. You can have all the addiction, and none of the chemical hooks. I went to a Gamblers' Anonymous meeting in Las Vegas (with the permission of everyone present, who knew I was there to observe) and they were as plainly addicted as the cocaine and heroin addicts I have known in my life. Yet there are no chemical hooks on a craps table." - Todd Hoff
I've always found the Rat Pack experiments fascinating. I think the difference for humans is that humans have many more ways to feel isolated. Humans can be isolated in a group, even a group of loved ones. Likewise it's possible to feel connected with a larger universe even when alone. - Todd Hoff
But people can get an endorphin rush from the excitement of gambling. - Joe
The question is always why do some people get addicted from gambling and others don't? Is it just biochemical? Or is it social? - Todd Hoff
The experiments are way deeper than that. - Todd Hoff
I'm with Steve - it doesn't seem to discuss the brain chemistry you're dealing with - the short answer to "why does one person get addicted and another doesn't" can be in part, genetics, brain wiring, brain chemistry, etc. Complicated. - Louise "Weezy" Alcorn
Brain chemistry is well covered in various publications, the wonderment is the protective value of social relations. Happy rats didn't fall prey to drugs. In a reductionist sense everything is chemistry or physics, but that's not the insight here. - Todd Hoff