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dopamine and addiction

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  1. #1
    Eric's Avatar
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    Default dopamine and addiction

    We were talking about Parkinson's on a hike yesterday and it made me think about the things I've read about the dopamine connection with gambling. The November 2013 http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...d-to-gambling/ article by Ferris Jabr talks about it:
    Over the decades researchers noticed that a remarkably high number of Parkinson's patients—between 2 and 7 percent—are compulsive gamblers. Treatment for one disorder most likely contributes to another. To ease symptoms of Parkinson's, some patients take levodopa and other drugs that increase dopamine levels. Researchers think that in some cases the resulting chemical influx modifies the brain in a way that makes risks and rewards—say, those in a game of poker—more appealing and rash decisions more difficult to resist.

    If we regulate online poker in California then the data will help protect addicts. This is because online histories of gains and losses are better tracked than brick and mortar histories involving cash. California's efforts are discussed:
    Around the U.S.—particularly in California—casinos are taking gambling addiction seriously. Marc Lefkowitz of the California Council on Problem Gambling regularly trains casino managers and employees to keep an eye out for worrisome trends, such as customers who spend increasing amounts of time and money gambling. He urges casinos to give gamblers the option to voluntarily ban themselves..
  2. #2
    a500lbgorilla's Avatar
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    himself fucker.
    Radiolab did a pretty interesting bit on just this topic

    http://www.radiolab.org/story/91687-seeking-patterns/
    <a href=http://i.imgur.com/kWiMIMW.png target=_blank>http://i.imgur.com/kWiMIMW.png</a>
  3. #3
    oskar's Avatar
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    in ur accounts... confiscating ur funz
    Why do you hate money?
    The strengh of a hero is defined by the weakness of his villains.
  4. #4
    Eric's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by a500lbgorilla View Post
    Radiolab did a pretty interesting bit on just this topic

    http://www.radiolab.org/story/91687-seeking-patterns/
    Yeah, this is fascinating. The radiolab.org link above points to http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ide...n_on_gambling/ which says the following (bold/underline formatting is mine):
    Recent medical studies have found that anywhere from 3 to 13 percent of patients on the kind of medication Klinestiver was taking develop severe gambling addictions or related compulsions. In early 2006, Klinestiver was taken off Requip. Her tremors worsened, but her gambling addiction vanished. "I haven't gambled in 18 months," she says. "I still think about the slots, but the obsession isn't there."

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