The very culture of drugs is addictive | Barbara Ellen

Getting hooked is not just about chemical propertiesA Canadian study suggests that people who think that they only use cocaine “recreationally” could bein danger of becoming addicted more easily than previously thought. After taking cocaine, participants underwent a PET scan while watching people with whom they had used the drug taking more cocaine. Just watching fellow participants take cocaine led to craving and a dopamine release in the dorsal striatum, which could lead to dependency.Certain hard partying reprobates may right now be thinking: “How do I get on to a study like that?” More seriously, drug addiction is a grim, complex and sometimes fatal business and, as the study points out, it would be beneficial to catch it early. Presumably, other factors must be taken into account: how the drug was taken, how often and whether someo ne has an addictive personality. Something more than dopamine release has to explain why some people taking a hard drug such as cocaine end up addicted, while others don’t.Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Drugs Society Psychology Science UK news Source Type: news