Tuesday, January 11, 2005
prvrt
Monday, January 10, 2005
gambler brain
Hamburg (pte, Jan 10, 2005 10:25) - People prone to serious gambling show a similar pattern of brain activity to those who are addicted to drugs, according to new research. According to the researchers from the Universitäts-Krankenhaus Eppendorf (UKE) http://www.uke.uni-hamburg.de in Hamburg, Germany, this showed gambling was also a form of addiction. As the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk reports, the parts of the brain which are active when people feel rewarded, curbing activity, are less so in those who take drugs or gamble to excess, the researchers say.
The study involved the monitoring of the brains of 12 compulsive gamblers and 12 non-gamblers using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while they played a simple guessing game. Players were then shown two-face down cards and had to choose one of them. If the card came up red, they won one euro. The study found that the ventral striatum, the part of the brain that signals reward, was less active in the pathological gamblers, despite the fact that both groups won and lost the same amount of money. Reduced activity in this area is also recognised as a hallmark of drug addiction.
The German researchers suggest that the explanation could be that people with these kinds of addictions are unable to maintain the amount of the brain chemical dopamine - which produces feelings of satisfaction and pleasure - which they need in the ventral striatum, in everyday life. To compensate, they need stronger triggers, such as drugs or excessive gambling. The research team from the UKE, led by Christian Buchel wrote in Nature Neuroscience that they "favour the view that pathological gambling is a non-substance related addiction".
However, according to Mark Griffiths, professor of gambling studies at the International Gaming Research Unit at Nottingham Trent University http://www.ntu.ac.uk, differences in brain activity was too simplistic an explanation for why some people gambled and others did not. "The explanation for why people gamble is more holistic than that. It's not just about the gambler, it's about other factors such as their social environment." Griffiths added that the design of gambling activities was also a factor in prompting people to become addictive. "There are differences. For example, a slot machine is more problematic than buying a weekly lottery ticket. This study is one more piece of the jigsaw that helps give gambling legitimacy as a bona-fide addiction," he said.
[newsfox]
The study involved the monitoring of the brains of 12 compulsive gamblers and 12 non-gamblers using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while they played a simple guessing game. Players were then shown two-face down cards and had to choose one of them. If the card came up red, they won one euro. The study found that the ventral striatum, the part of the brain that signals reward, was less active in the pathological gamblers, despite the fact that both groups won and lost the same amount of money. Reduced activity in this area is also recognised as a hallmark of drug addiction.
The German researchers suggest that the explanation could be that people with these kinds of addictions are unable to maintain the amount of the brain chemical dopamine - which produces feelings of satisfaction and pleasure - which they need in the ventral striatum, in everyday life. To compensate, they need stronger triggers, such as drugs or excessive gambling. The research team from the UKE, led by Christian Buchel wrote in Nature Neuroscience that they "favour the view that pathological gambling is a non-substance related addiction".
However, according to Mark Griffiths, professor of gambling studies at the International Gaming Research Unit at Nottingham Trent University http://www.ntu.ac.uk, differences in brain activity was too simplistic an explanation for why some people gambled and others did not. "The explanation for why people gamble is more holistic than that. It's not just about the gambler, it's about other factors such as their social environment." Griffiths added that the design of gambling activities was also a factor in prompting people to become addictive. "There are differences. For example, a slot machine is more problematic than buying a weekly lottery ticket. This study is one more piece of the jigsaw that helps give gambling legitimacy as a bona-fide addiction," he said.
[newsfox]
Sunday, January 09, 2005
warning shot
The neighbor’s kids were over at my house again today. They, of course, come over to play with my kids. Like in any other normal American household, this is strictly forbidden. It is not that I don’t want my children playing with other kids; I just don’t like their friends. So I go out of my way to warn them never to come over again.
I usually start with a friendly “warning shot”. Yesterday I took a sharp steak knife and slowly cut into my finger. All the while I am saying, “You see this? This will be your penis if you come back.”
If this doesn’t work I lay bear traps in front of all home entrances. To this point only one person needed a few stitches…to hold together a bleeding stump.
Lately the kids have become more creative. The other day I have found that they have been burrowing under the ground and coming up through the foundation of the house. They sneak up through the framing and stealthily move around the house under the cupboards until they reach the pantry. I know they have been there because I see the Cheeto and Suzy Q crumbs leading back into the holes in the wall. And, of course, there are the unmistakably noticeable child droppings.
It is obvious that those little rodents have finally become worthy foes. Therefore, I have ordered a bag of rattlesnakes, earwigs, scorpions, wasps, and some ladybugs, which I got free with the order. The fun is only beginning…
