An Ancient Brain in a Modern World: Addiction Isn't About Willpower

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Here's where our modern predicament becomes clear: we've engineered a world flooded with what scientists call "super stimuli." These aren't the natural rewards our ancestors encountered. They're concentrated, intensified, and deliberately designed to hijack our ancient wiring.

Anna Lembke, author of "Dopamine Nation" and another Stanford psychiatry professor, explains that our reward pathways have been "conserved over millions of years of evolution." They're fundamental to who we are as biological beings. But when we repeatedly flood these ancient systems with substances or behaviors that create massive dopamine spikes—nicotine, alcohol, engineered foods, slot machines, social media notifications—something troubling happens.

The brain doesn't just keep producing endless dopamine. It adapts.

Reference:  Why our brains are wired for addiction: What the science says

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