Brain Area Found to Be Smaller in Cocaine Addicts

[Greyskye]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=594&e=1&u=/nm/20041119/hl_nm/brain_cocaine_dc


But if a reduction in amygdala volume is involved in cocaine addiction, the implications would be great regardless of whether it's a cause or effect, according to Breiter.

If even short-term cocaine abuse can cause such "dramatic" degenerative change in the brain, he said, that would highlight a prime danger of the drug.



Well, now we know one possible reason that shrub's an idiot.

[Feathered Fish]

1. LOL! n/t

[tandot]

2. ...and Bush didn't have a lot of brain to begin with anyway

:evilgrin:

[KittyWampus]

11. Yeah, Just Checking In To See If DU'ers Followed Up On This Opening

it's almost TOO easy.... :D

[Minstrel Boy]

3. That would be the peeance-freeance lobe.

[sniffa]

4. oh thank god

gLass is stiLL ok for you brain

[Roland99]

5. Proof Bush is a pea-brain!!

LMAO!

[fertilizeonarbusto]

6. That explains a lot

n/t

[Straight Shooter]

7. Oh, jeez, look at this sentence from the article

"The fact that the amygdala appears to be involved in judging the potential pitfalls of an action may help explain how an abnormality in its structure could make a person susceptible to cocaine addiction ..."

In short, "look before you leap" is a worthless admonition to cocaine addicts. This explains why bush is incapable of evaluating consequences of his actions.

I wonder if the amygdala is smaller in people who live in a "faith-based" reality.

[Octafish]

8. No shit, Sherlock. (Great article!)

;-)

[sr_pacifica]

13. Look how much smarter and together the kids look n/t

[Octafish]

14. You got that right.

The kids know that school's important.

Moron knows that daddy will bail him out.

[meow2u3]

9. I have one question

Was that part of the brain smaller before or after the addict got hooked on coke? In other words, did cocaine addiction shrink the amygdala, or was it already too small before the addict started to use snow?

[Greyskye]

10. unknown

From the article:


His team's study, published in the November 18th issue of the journal Neuron, cannot answer the question of whether smaller amygdala volume is a contributor to or consequence of cocaine addiction, Breiter said.


However, he pointed to evidence that supports a causal role. For example, amygdala volume did not correspond with the level of a person's drug abuse; cocaine users in the study had abused the drug for anywhere from one to 27 years, yet had similar reductions in amygdala size.


In addition, Breiter explained, during normal development, the right-hemisphere amygdala becomes larger than the left. However, in these cocaine addicts, he said, "there was a loss of this asymmetry."


It seems unlikely, the researcher noted, that drug abuse would have affected only one side of the brain in these individuals. Instead, he said, such a loss of asymmetry in the amygdala would seem to have genetic underpinnings.


But if a reduction in amygdala volume is involved in cocaine addiction, the implications would be great regardless of whether it's a cause or effect, according to Breiter.

[420inTN]

15. correlation or causation?

that is the question.

[natrat]

12. somehow i dont think that is Gracious Leader's problem

he's just a dick

[phasev]

16. as if it wasn't already small when shrub was born n/t

[VegasWolf]

17. Picture of your brain on drugs.