Cell Phone Addiction

 Most people have never thought of addiction to the internet and cell phone yet there is a good deal of evidence that such is possible. Daniel Cummins has referred to cell phones as "the addiction in our pocket." His talk is well worth reading and a link is provided below. Consider the following quote from Puente and Balmori:

"Dopamine seems to be the most active, although it’s not the only one. Although each drug possesses its own mechanism of action, all of them intervene to a greater or lesser measure on a neuronal reward circuit known as the mesolimbic dopaminergic system, that favors, by means of pleasurable sensations, adaptive behaviors. Those systems of reward are located in the primitive part of the brain, where the processes of survival are inaccessible to the conscious or voluntary mind....Dependency or addiction to cell phones could have a physiological base, due to the interruptions that the microwaves provoke in the neurotransmitters in the neural synapses of the reward system of the brain. These effects are still under investigation and it is too soon to understand the neurophysiological basis of cell phone addiction."

Dr. Ramalingam Peraman wrote a letter to the editor of the Journal of Natural Science, Biology, and Medicine in 2016 in which he concluded:

"It is a right time to initiate preventive measures against mobile phone mania, among students and public health without further delay as well. Everyone has to accept that relationship with mobile phones are risky for anyone, and it can steer us into “mobile phone mania” or “nomophobia,” a psychological disorder which is equally dangerous as similar to narcotic drug addictions."

Links to article on addiction to cell phones. Puente and Balmori, Addiction to cell phones: Are there neurophysiological mechanisms involved?

Letter by Dr. Ramalingam Peraman.

Cummins, Daniel, The Addiction in Our Pocket, February 27, 2024.

PowerPoint Presentation by Dr. Anna Lembke of Stanford University on dopamine addiction.

Review of Lembke's Book.

Link to Amazon site on the book.

 Not So New News About Sugar

       A recent study by neuroscientist Selena Bartlett and associates of Queensland University compared the effects of refined sugar intake to those of cocaine, morphine, and nicotine. Sugar repeatedly elevates dopamine, a brain chemical which creates a sensation of pleasure and reward. Long term consumption leads to a reduction in dopamine levels leading to ever higher consumption of sugar to get the same level of reward. The artificial sweetener saccharin produced similar results to sugar.

     The derangement of brain chemicals triggered by sugar addiction plays a role in weight gain and neurological and psychiatric problems according to the researchers.

     The researchers observed that withdrawal from sucrose can precipitate a response similar to going "cold turkey" off of nicotine, morphine, or cocaine. Drugs used to treat nicotine addiction may be helpful in treating sugar cravings according to some studies.

     None of this research is that surprising. Dr. Elliott Blass demonstrated that refined sugar activated the opiate receptor about 30 years ago. Anyone who doubts the harmful effects of sugar should watch the video "Sweet Suicide."

Link to article on sugar and dopamine.

Link to Addiction Summit with Elliott Blass

Oreos Addictive as Cocaine

     Professor Joseph Schroeder of Connecticut College conducted a study to consider the potential addictiveness of foods with a high fat an sugar content. He found Oreos activated significantly more neurons in the "pleasure center" of the brain than did cocaine or morphine. Schroeder said, "Our research supports the theory that high-fat, high-sugar foods stimulate the brain in the same way that drugs do. It may explain why some people can't resist these foods despite the fact that they know they are bad for them." The study was the idea of Jamie Honohan, a student, who had run across research showing that rats liked Oreos. Honohan enjoyed eating Oreos prior to her research project but afterwards, knowing their addictiveness, could not even look at them. The researchers felt the addictiveness of some grocery store foods may partially explain the epidemic of obesity in lower socio-economic communities.
     It was no surprise to me that Oreos are addicting. Paul Stitt, a biochemist working in the food industry, wrote the following over 20 years ago, "Have you ever eaten just one Oreo cookie? Bet you can't either. They look so sweet an innocent! What you should realize is that the Nabisco Company sent millions developing that formula so that you can't eat jut one. It contains 23 different appetite stimulants and 11 artificial colors. I saw the recipe and I was aghast. It's not easy to make a cookie that will hook every last American. So next time you buy a package of Oreo cookies, be assured that you'll eat them all at one time and gain another pound."
Link to study on Oreos.

Reference:
Stitt, Paul, Beating the Food Giants, Manitowoc, WI: Natural Press, 1993, 120.

Addiction

    Recent studies of drug addiction have shown that addictive drugs have the ability to alter gene expression throughout the reward circuitry of the brain leading to persistent addicted states. This explains why it is so difficult to break addictive habits even when an individual has a desire to discontinue an addictive stubstance. It also explains why we often substitute one addiction for another.
     Fortunately, nutritional research has repeatedly shown that optimal nutrition reduces addictive tendencies and makes withdrawal from addictions easier. Generous intake of vitamin C appears to be particularly important for those suffering with sugar and opiate addictions.
Reference:
Maze, Ian, and Nestler, Eric J., The epigenetic landscape of addiction, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2011; 1216, 99-113.