How Methamphetamines Trick Your Brain

I just happened across this video from National Geographic showing how methamphetamines affect the brain, both in the short term and the long term. It gives an informative, concise look into what’s happening in the brain to make the drug so very addictive–and how that addiction can ruin the sense of joy that everyday life [...]

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Posted October 13, 2010 by Marghi Merzenich under Drugs, Neuroscience

Junk Food and Addiction – How Cheesecake and Bacon are Like Heroin and Cocaine

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps produce a reward response in the brain. This response kicks into action when we do something pleasurable- like eating highly palatable food. It is known that there is a reduction in this reward response in obese people. However, it is unclear whether the reduction in reward precedes obesity and [...]

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Posted April 26, 2010 by Peter Delahunt under Brain plasticity, Neuroscience, Research studies