jjo@asgb.UUCP (Jeff Oliver) (03/23/85)
There has been a significant amount of discussion recently about the addictive potential of diazepam etc. I think that there is a more fundamental issue here as to what exactly is addiction, why do some people have 'addictive personalities', and what is homeostasis. There seems to be mounting evidence that a great deal of behaviour is determined by neurotransmitters. This may be no revelation to most, but I propose that a great deal of individual differences are determined by subtle variations in the activity or concentration of various neurotransmitters across a population. It seems that schizophrenia may be associated with abnormal levels of serotonin, mania with acetylcholine, and depression with nor-epinephrine (this is, admittedly, over simplified). It also seems reasonable to believe that these effects exist on a continuum, that most of us fall somewhere on this continuum, and that where we reside on this multi-dimensional surface determines our personality. Consider that an individual posseses a slightly diminished capacity to produce nor-epinephrine at the synapse, this individual feels subjectively slightly anxious and apprehensive constantly. The individual feels that something is wrong although there appears to be no external cause. Therefore, the individual may learn that certain substances (diazepam, amphetamine, etc.) can relieve the anxiety, thereby 'returning' this individual to a state of homeostasis. In this instance, can we really state that this person has an addictive personality, or that he is addicted at all? Could it be that the desire to consume substances which alter the relative activities of certain neurotransmitters is merely an attempt by the nervous system to reach a state of balance that was denied by heredity or environment? And given that some individuals are born with this balance (read 'sense of well being') is it not surprising that others will attempt to attain it? Can physics be immoral? J. Oliver Burroughs ASG - Boulder
rbg@cbosgd.UUCP (Richard Goldschmidt) (03/25/85)
> It seems that schizophrenia may be associated with abnormal levels of > serotonin J. Oliver Burroughs ASG - Boulder There is substantially more evidence that schizophrenia is related to dopamine disfunction than to serotonin. The drugs most effective in treating it are dopamine blocking agents, and a specific pathway (the meso-limbic dopamine system) has been implicated. There is probably more than one kind of schizophrenia, so this explanation is also an over-simplification, but there is also considerable evidence from identical twin studies for a genetic predisposition to schizophrenia. > Could it be that the desire to consume substances which alter the relative > activities of certain neurotransmitters is merely an attempt by the nervous > system to reach a state of balance that was denied by heredity or > environment? While this may account for some cases of addiction there are probably other mechanisms at work. > Can physics be immoral? Morality is defined by cultures, not physics or biology. Is being addicted to caffeine or nicotine immoral? Not at the present time in our culture... -- Rich Goldschmidt {ucbvax,ihnp4,decvax,allegra,ulysses} !cbosgd!rbg ARPA: cbosgd!rbg@ucbvax
hollombe@ttidcc.UUCP (The Polymath) (03/29/85)
In article <994@cbosgd.UUCP> rbg@cbosgd.UUCP (Richard Goldschmidt) writes: > There is probably more than one kind of >schizophrenia, so this explanation is also an over-simplification, but >there is also considerable evidence from identical twin studies for a >genetic predisposition to schizophrenia. The symptoms associated with schizophrenia are apparently generated by a fairly broad range of disorders. Hence such disparate cures as megavitamin therapy, massive doses of phenothiazines, and electroshock, most of which work in some cases but none in all cases. The twin studies demonstrated a genetic predisposition but it only accounted for ~14% of the variance. Early environmental factors were of greater importance (eg: being raised by/in a schizophrenic family). -- -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe) Citicorp TTI 3100 Ocean Park Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90405 (213) 450-9111, ext. 2483 {philabs,randvax,trwrb,vortex}!ttidca!ttidcc!hollombe