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What The Mind Hungers For: Watch 'The Craving Brain


Overview

Originally Published: 07/24/2014

Post Date: 08/20/2014

by Moderator: Elizabeth Vargas Participants: Nora D. Volkow, Kim D. Janda, Eric Nestler, Amir Levine


Video

Summary/Abstract

Nora Volkow, chemist Kim Janda, and neuroscientists Eric Nestler and Amir Levine explain the latest thinking in the science of addiction in the mind in "The Craving Brain: The Neuroscience of Uncontrollable Urges," a program of the 2014 World Science Festival.

Content

When we try to get rid of a bad habit, whether it involves food or drugs or gambling, it often seems like we're fighting ourselves inside. The reality's not far off: Addiction twists the reward pathways of the brain to keep addicts tied to whatever gets them high. But can we use our knowledge of the brain to undo these neurological knots?

Counseling . . . therapy . . . self-control. The path to curing addiction has never been easy. Addiction short-circuits the brain’s reward system, releasing dopamine and other feel-good chemicals that keep you coming back for more. But through a steadily developing understanding of the brain, scientists foresee a future in which a simple medical procedure—even a shot or a pill—could defuse addiction’s power. Join leading researchers studying how addiction changes the very fabric of the brain, and what new insights could mean for addicts trying to win back their lives.

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