After several months of reading articles and books related to the science of addiction, I've learned a lot but it's raised as many questions as answers. Perhaps neuroscience/pharmacology really is still in its infancy despite the impressive research that has already been done.
1. The topic of downregulation has become widely popular but so far there seems to be scant info on what actually hits the reward system harder, the anticipation of the stimulus, or the stimulus itself? This mystery had been haunting me for the longest time, and I finally stumbled on a Reddit post that asked that very question. The reply was something along the lines of "the net result is the same." Obviously shooting heroin and 'thinking' about shooting heroin are quite different. But it's quite disturbing to think that you could be continuing an addiction cycle merely by imagining the stimulus. In that great study by the Scripps Institute, rats experienced a reduction in D-2 receptor density from being allowed to over-indulge in junk food. Initially this was a bit confusing because I had previously read (at least when it comes to food) that dopamine was primarily for motivation-arousal, and the brain's opioids were the true reward. So, are there different receptors for the anticipation and consumption phases, respectively? It's also interesting to note that ,aside from serious drug addicts, not everyone experiences the downregulation problem. My father drinks all afternoon and into the evening, every single day, but he's the happiest person I know. But then you have people saying they can't even listen to music without it leaving them emotionally numb. Again another mystery that hopefully science will unravel.
2. Delta-fos-B? Most info sources written for the laymen (I'm a high-school dropout lol) never mention this protein "thingy" at all as it relates to the forces of addiction but I've heard it's the real master switch behind it all. So why isn't it talked about more? Do authors think people won't understand how it works? All too often, it just seems like a glaring omission in light of how it can accumulate in the brain and reinforce habit.
Thanks in advance as I would love to learn more!
