How the brain learns to become addicted
Researchers have identified a key signaling molecule in the brain that appears to trigger the brain to "learn" a craving for cocaine. Their finding could offer an important target for drugs to treat addiction by short-circuiting that adaptive process. In an article in the February 16, 2006, issue of Neuron, Antonello Bonci and colleagues established that a short protein, or peptide, called...Can one get addicted to fast food?
The New Scientist magazine in its January issue has reported that a regular diet of fast foods like hamburgers, fries and foods high in fat and calories may be addictive. The researchers have found that eating oneself to obesity is not just due to a lack of self-control, but is most likely due to the hormonal changes caused by the fast foods, in the body, that could impair the ability to control...Tendency To Smoke and Get Addicted Could Run In Families!
Researchers from Canada point out to two genes, both variant forms of a gene called CYP2A6, which are believed to play in a significant role in the smoking addiction.// The protein product of these genes is believed to help regulate the elimination of nicotine from the body. The two identified gene forms are found to decrease the level of enzymes involved in the metabolism of nicotine,...Addiction of a different kind: college girls addicted to dieting
Addictions catch u unaware and then stay with you for good. One such new addiction seen among college girls is dieting//. As per a new survey it has been found that 83 per cent of college girls go on diets to control their weight, regardless of whether they are normal weight, overweight or obese. Brenda Malinauskas from East Carolina University, USA led the team of researcher...More Help Needed for Children of Drug-Addicted Parents
Scottish ministers have pledged to identify children at risk in homes of drug-addicted parents even during the pregnancy stage itself. // Minister Jack McConnell unveiled the Scottish Executive's new policy Hidden Harm - Next Steps to protect such children effectively. The policy proposes plans to improve the identification of these children at risk, even before their birth so...