Compulsivity
So I was just chatting with one of my bosses at work today, and she triggered some thought. She told me of something she had heard/read recently about this drug they medical science is working with for victims of Parkinson's disease. Evidently, the treatment has come to the attention of the healthcare providers because one of the side effects of this drug is to cause average, stable people to become compulsive gamblers. So the drug company is now working with researchers to look further into the matter. Supposedly, the drug targets the substantia nigra section of the midbrain, (this is the area that controls smoothing out body movements), but this section of the brain is surrounded by other portions that control the pleasure center. Normal brains have something that regulates the production of dopamine, (a neurotransmitter that is associated with the pleasure and reinforcement portions of the brain). So, basically, when the balance is off, behavior is thrown out of balance as well. I'm no scientist, so I'm probably leaving out some sort of vital info, but the fact that the compulsive behavior triggered by a drug that messes with the normal production of the dopamine is a corruption of something that is good reminded me of the conversation we had at our Captivating/Wild at Heart group last night.
In the midst of our chatting about spiritual topics, we talked about how everything evil in this world is basically a corruption of what was originally good/perfect. Compulsivity is a slight corruption of the brain function that motivates us to do things or to feel pleasure. My boss speculated that it is interesting that organisms NEED an inhibitor on the function of motivation to keep the behavior from corruption. Going back to the C/WAT discussion...this is just another example of the inherent knowledge that things should be a certain way. We chatted about conscience, and how every human at one time or another knows how something SHOULD be, but isn't. Our brains are so intricate, and so fragile in balance, that it fills me with awe of the vastness of the Creator. We are hardwired to know what is good and what is evil, even though we can become callous as a result of situations, society, or damaging relationships. So yeah, I just thought it was a brief thought worthy of noting. :)
In the midst of our chatting about spiritual topics, we talked about how everything evil in this world is basically a corruption of what was originally good/perfect. Compulsivity is a slight corruption of the brain function that motivates us to do things or to feel pleasure. My boss speculated that it is interesting that organisms NEED an inhibitor on the function of motivation to keep the behavior from corruption. Going back to the C/WAT discussion...this is just another example of the inherent knowledge that things should be a certain way. We chatted about conscience, and how every human at one time or another knows how something SHOULD be, but isn't. Our brains are so intricate, and so fragile in balance, that it fills me with awe of the vastness of the Creator. We are hardwired to know what is good and what is evil, even though we can become callous as a result of situations, society, or damaging relationships. So yeah, I just thought it was a brief thought worthy of noting. :)
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