BRAAAINS (dopamine mechanism)

[substitute]

Looks like I'm not the only one with issues about dopamine. My ADD/depression/anxiety/self-hatred galaxy revolves around the stuff, and of course it's the mechanism of addiction. But these poor bastards found out that the medication they were taking for Parkinson's disease was turning them into pathological gamblers.

When the drug was discontinued, the urge to gamble disappeared. The AP story is here at Salon.com and the full scientific article from the Archives of Neurology is here.

That's a Holy Shit Moment, that a dopaminergic drug can cause that specific an addiction to a behavior.

Comments

[ex-petjunkie416.livejournal.com]

My uncle is the most responsible, "good guy" you'll ever meet. Family man, former volunteer firefighter, master gardener. He's building a cabin about 2 hrs north of their house in MN. He didn't come home one night. The sheriff searched the ditches along the highway. All the kids were out looking. They called every rest stop and diner along the road (there aren't many).

Turns out he stopped at a casino to gamble, didn't stop until after 3am, and then fell asleep in the lobby. He's never gambled before. Just three weeks earlier, he had started on his new medication for Parkinson's.

His family is so mad at him for making them worry, some of them still don't believe the news about this drug! This event scared the hell out of them.