http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/realitybase/2008/07/16/the-meds-made-me-do-it-drug-side-effects-include-gambling-risky-sex/ A blog about science, politics, and how to let each help the other without compromising them both. Thu, 08 Jan 2009 05:30:22 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/realitybase/2008/07/16/the-meds-made-me-do-it-drug-side-effects-include-gambling-risky-sex/#comment-300 dan umanoff, m.d. Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:34:29 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/realitybase/2008/07/16/the-meds-made-me-do-it-drug-side-effects-include-gambling-risky-sex/#comment-300 The dopamine agonist phenomena discussed in your article are very important. The debate on whether addictions are caused by biological mechanisms and in particular genetic ones versus non-biological causes is long over though the other side of this issue hasn’t surrendered yet because they are making hundreds of billions of dollars off the psychobabble/moral/environmental paradigm. See my review paper on the science behind this theory war and the debate at: http://www.nvo.com/hypoism/hypoismhypothesis/ Another article discusses the evolutionary psychology and the brain mechanism given to us by evolution: http://www.nvo.com/hypoism/thehypoismaddictionhypothesis/ My 1996 book, Hypoic’s Handbook, goes through the entire paradigm debate including the addiction prevention, recovery, and public policy implications. The addictions seen in the small group of Mirapex and Requip users is 100% in favor of the biological (and genetic) causation of addictions. Discontinuation and reuse studies show under these conditions the addictions disappear and reappear in these people. There’s no question this is a biological mechanism and real, not to be ignored, poo-poo’d or disrespected. The science of this needs to be worked out, but my guess is that as in addictions in general, there are certain people with certain particular genetic alleles of the reward system regulatory mechanism that get addictions under the biological influence of these dopamine agonists. A better understanding of this phenomenon will add insight into the causation of addictions and more evidence of the purely biological mechanism of addiction causation. The main implications of all this is that the entire paradigm of addiction causation and understanding needs to be changed, dumping the current environmental/psychobabble paradigm (the hijacked brain hypothesis), so we can then move forward in ending the current addiction epidemic maintained by this paradigm and their damaging public policies, such as the drug war and addict discrimination. My web site http://www.nvo.com/hypoism/door/ has much important information on all aspects of this mess. The dopamine agonist phenomena discussed in your article are very important.
The debate on whether addictions are caused by biological mechanisms and in particular genetic ones versus non-biological causes is long over though the other side of this issue hasn’t surrendered yet because they are making hundreds of billions of dollars off the psychobabble/moral/environmental paradigm. See my review paper on the science behind this theory war and the debate at: http://www.nvo.com/hypoism/hypoismhypothesis/ Another article discusses the evolutionary psychology and the brain mechanism given to us by evolution: http://www.nvo.com/hypoism/thehypoismaddictionhypothesis/ My 1996 book, Hypoic’s Handbook, goes through the entire paradigm debate including the addiction prevention, recovery, and public policy implications.
The addictions seen in the small group of Mirapex and Requip users is 100% in favor of the biological (and genetic) causation of addictions. Discontinuation and reuse studies show under these conditions the addictions disappear and reappear in these people. There’s no question this is a biological mechanism and real, not to be ignored, poo-poo’d or disrespected. The science of this needs to be worked out, but my guess is that as in addictions in general, there are certain people with certain particular genetic alleles of the reward system regulatory mechanism that get addictions under the biological influence of these dopamine agonists. A better understanding of this phenomenon will add insight into the causation of addictions and more evidence of the purely biological mechanism of addiction causation.
The main implications of all this is that the entire paradigm of addiction causation and understanding needs to be changed, dumping the current environmental/psychobabble paradigm (the hijacked brain hypothesis), so we can then move forward in ending the current addiction epidemic maintained by this paradigm and their damaging public policies, such as the drug war and addict discrimination.
My web site http://www.nvo.com/hypoism/door/ has much important information on all aspects of this mess.

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