How Impulsive is Addiction?

Lance Dodes, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and blogger for Psychology Today, discredits the popular belief that addiction is impulsive.  Addictive behavior is not merely one sudden urge after another.  Not only can cravings last days, but they are also derived heavily from the emotional factors that come from feeling and satisfying the addiction.

If this type of dependence truly did stem from impulse, then at the point of planning, the idea would die.  This is because “impulse” is a word that suggests that a given action or feeling is stimulus-driven and not a factor of any thought processing.  Because a craving can take hours to satisfy and the longing to act on it can continue to last throughout, it is clear that the person’s recognition of negativity within the action is not enough to shut down the willingness to proceed.  If addiction was impulsive, then knowing that what causes is negative would be enough reason to inhibit oneself.

In reality, addiction is a product of compulsions.  Compulsions are repeated actions that a person takes that are often triggered by emotional factors and represent the longing of an individual to temporarily feel control of an aspect within his or her life.  These are deep seeded and far more complex than impulses, which is why the strong internal feeling to gratify it lasts over such a long delay.  In a way, it relieves a person to think about performing the action, whether it is gambling, drugs, or drinking.  Individuals who have problems with dependency should not necessarily be viewed as pleasure seeking or mentally weak but rather as people with good functioning who are troubled by a specific psychological ailment.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-heart-addiction/201105/the-myth-impulsiveness-in-addiction

“I Feel Your Pain”: Tracking Pain Synesthaesia through Brain Scanning

When viewing someone being injured or in pain, some people are prone to feeling pain in their own bodies as well. According to researchers at Monash University in Australia, “synaesthetic pain” occurs when pain is observed or imagined, and have now identified some of its neural pathways.

Observing or imagining pain activates brain areas associated with real pain, via the mirror neuron system. Researchers recorded brain activity from various volunteers (amputees with synasthaetic and phantom pain, amputees with only phantom pain, and healthy people without amputations) viewing images of hands or feet in potentially harmful situations. Pain synaesthetes demonstrated decreased theta and alpha brainwaves, which are an indication that their mirror systems are activated more strongly.

Usually activation in the mirror neuron system is dampened by inhibitory mechanisms, but the sensitivity of such systems may be increased by the loss of limbs and become hypervigilant, lowering the pain threshold to smaller triggers such as the observation of pain.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028144.200-brain-scans-reveal-why-some-people-feel-your-pain.html

Low levels of “cuddle hormone” may indicate post-partum depression risk

An article in the May 2011 issue of Neuropsychopharmacology states that there is a possible connection between low oxytocin levels and the risk of postpartum depression. Oxytocin, also known as the “cuddle hormone,” causes labor contractions. Previous research has shown that mothers with higher levels of oxytocin are more likely to smile at their babies.

In this Swiss study, researchers measured oxytocin levels in 73 healthy, pregnant women during the third trimester. The women were screened for their risk of developing depression during pregnancy and within two weeks of giving birth. Based on the screening tests, 14 women were determined to be at risk for postpartum depression. These women had lower levels of oxytocin.

http://www.usnews.com/science/articles/2011/05/12/bonding-hormone-linked-to-postpartum-depression

Disney star Selena Gomez claims “bipolar-ness”

When questioned in an interview about her ability to juggle her busy schedule and her media-frenzied relationship with Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez stated, “I am sure I have some sense of bipolar-ness.  I wake up happy then turn to sadness on a dime.”  The teen idol also admitted to hoping for a break from her stressful life.

The “Monte Carlo” star’s comments come on the heels of recent celebrity admissions to having bipolar disorder from fellow actresses Demi Lovato and Catherine Zeta-Jones.  Some fans found her statements to be odd and even insensitive, particularly because of her on-again friendship with Demi Lovato, whose stay in a rehabilitation center due to bipolar disorder recently made headlines.

http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2011/04/30/selena-gomez-claiming-she-is-a-little-bipolar/

Spring allergies could be the cause of seasonal depression

Dr. Paul Marshall, a neuropsychologist at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, states that a person suffering from allergies has double the risk of developing depression. Additionally, a consultation with an allergist triples the likelihood of having depression.  The correlational study is not conclusive, but allergy-connected mood changes usually boil down to mild depressive symptoms like sadness, lethargy and fatigue.

An allergic reaction is an immune response that releases cytokines, protein molecules used in communication between cells. For example, cytokines induce feelings of sickness that often accompany the flu. A 2002 study conducted by Marshall found that allergic reactions to ragweed pollen cause significant fatigue and mood changes in some patients. More recently, Dr. Teodor Postolache published a study investigating the association between suicidal indicators and allergies. Postolache’s group noted a peak in suicide rates from April to June.

Antihistamines used to treat allergies can also contribute to low moods. The side effects of allergy medications can heighten irregular sleeping patterns that can increase irritability. The major antihistamines, including Allegra, Claritin and Zyrtec, can also lead to insomnia.

Dr. Michael Silverman, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, asks people not to blame allergies for deeper emotional issues. Even if some people have a direct mood response from allergies, allergies are not always the best explanation for feeling depressed.

 http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/04/20/allergies.depression.moods/

Plastic Surgery: The New Addiction in the UK

Adam Searle, the president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), warns fellow surgeons to beware of patients addicted to cosmetic surgery or Botox treatments and those who have body dysmorphic disorder, also known as “imagined ugly syndrome.”

Research by BAAPS released in May found that there were 22,041 cosmetic operations (excluding Botox injections) in Britain last year, up 35% from 2004. These included 5,646 breast enlargements.

Martin Kelly, a plastic surgeon with London Plastic Surgery Associates, states that Botox injection is the fastest-growing cosmetic procedure and, yet, the addictive appeal surrounding Botox has largely been ignored. Also, the rise of celebrity culture has played a significant part in the growth of cosmetic surgery. Sharon Osbourne, a television presenter, has spoken openly of spending up to £300,000 on plastic surgery, including having her breasts, legs and buttocks altered. The appearance of Jocelyn Wildenstein, the 60-year-old US socialite, is a stark warning to cosmetic surgery candidates. She was dubbed “Catwoman” and “the Bride of Wildenstein” after she spent a reported £2m on plastic surgery.

There are people who develop a dependency on the support they appear to get from cosmetic surgery. “Cosmetic surgery is potentially habit-forming,” said Searle.  These people feel a sense of psychological well-being after one procedure and this fuels the notion that they would feel even better if they had another.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article641628.ece

Genetics increases alcoholism risk

Sandra Villafuerte, a researcher at the Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute and the department of psychiatry at the University of Michigan, has found out that people with certain variations in a gene called GABRA2 have an increased risk for alcoholism. She and her colleagues studied 449 people from 173 families, including 129 families with at least one member who had been diagnosed with alcohol dependence or abuse.

The investigators used functional MRI scans to observe changes in blood flow to the brain in response to different situations. This enabled researchers to see the variations in GABRA2. The brain scans revealed that people with one form of the GABRA2 associated with alcoholism had greatly increased levels of activation in an area of the brain called the insula when they were anticipating rewards or losses.

Margit Burmeister,  a professor of psychiatry and human genetics, states that the results of the study suggest that GABRA2 exerts an influence on an underlying neural system that impacts early risk factors and, later, alcohol dependency. The researchers also emphasized that genetic risk factors don't act alone and having them does not automatically mean that someone will become an alcoholic.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20110413/hl_hsn/certaingenescouldaddtoalcoholismrisk