Latest Addictive behavior Stories
New research unravels the brain mechanisms that underlie the ability of a standard drug treatment for Parkinson's to elicit compulsive behaviors in some patients with the disease. The study, published by Cell Press in the January 14th issue of the journal Neuron, provides fascinating new insight into the brain mechanisms that underlie a predisposition to behavioral addictions, such as pathological gambling and shopping.The tendency to make a compulsive choice, even when faced with substantial...
The causes of obesity are complex and individual, but it is clear that chronic overeating plays a fundamental role. But when this behavior becomes compulsive and out of control, it is often classified as "food addiction" "“ a label that has generated considerable controversy, according to a McMaster University psychiatrist and obesity researcher.In a commentary appearing in the Dec. 21, 2009, issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), Dr. Valerie Taylor, an...
Addictive behavior is determined by conscious, rapid thought processes, not necessarily by the content of visual stimuli as previously thought according to research funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).Researchers from the Universities of Sussex, Cambridge and Nottingham have found that although attention to visual cues related to addictions, known as attentional bias, may be linked with bad habits as previously thought, it does not control the decision...
The stereotypical shopaholic darting from store to store to pick up anything and everything while racking up a hefty credit-card bill is anything but stereotypical. They come in all shapes and sizes. New research reveals while some super-shoppers spend to boost self-esteem and band-aid other perceived internal deficits, others' carts are driven by plain-old materialism. Whatever the motivation, however, researchers mostly agree that buying behaviors can range from frivolous...
NEW YORKÂ -- For some, the Internet it has become an addiction, adversely affecting their lives and their family's lives.While not yet defined as a true addiction, many people are suffering the consequences of obsession with the online world, warns Dr. Diane M. Wieland, who treats patients with computer addiction in her practice in Lansdale, Pennsylvania.For some people, the Internet may promote addictive behaviors and pseudo-intimate interpersonal relationships, reports Wieland in the...
