Habit: A Sidenote on Neurons

The following is an excerpt from a study done in 2005 at MIT.  The full article is here.

Brain researchers explain why old habits die hard

Cathryn M. Delude, News Office Correspondent

Habits help us through the day, eliminating the need to strategize about each tiny step involved in making a frothy latte, driving to work and other complex routines. Bad habits, though, can have a vise grip on both mind and behavior. Notoriously hard to break, they are devilishly easy to resume, as many reformed smokers discover.

"We knew that neurons can change their firing patterns when habits are learned, but it is startling to find that these patterns reverse when the habit is lost, only to recur again as soon as something kicks off the habit again," said Graybiel, who is also the Walter A. Rosenblith Professor of Neuroscience in MIT's Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences (BCS).

"It is as though somehow, the brain retains a memory of the habit context, and this pattern can be triggered if the right habit cues come back," Graybiel said. "This situation is familiar to anyone who is trying to lose weight or to control a well-engrained habit. Just the sight of a piece of chocolate cake can reset all those good intentions."  --------

So beware - even if we replace a bad habit with a good habit the neural pathways have memory and can easily fall back into whatever activity was previously engaged in.  Especially if there was a 'reward' involved, such as sugar.

Why Sugar Addiction?

ad-dict-ed /e'diktid/ adj. 1. dependent on; unable to do without. (dk illustrated oxford dictionary)

Why do we get addicted? Especially to something like sugar. There isn't a simple, one sentence answer. I believe that addiction is much more than a physical need. I believe that every facet of our lives affects our behavior toward a substance or activity that we have a weakness for. Addiction isn't just physical. It's chemical and hormonal. It's mental and subconscious. It's emotional. It's habitual and neurally driven. It's genetic. And probably more.

My personal experience seems to be mostly geared around 6 main elements (not in order of influence):

1. Stress
2. Hormonal
3. Habit
4. Emotions
5. Physical Dependence
6. Spiritual Health
   

This is why I believe addiction is so difficult to help. One element, when out of balance, stressed or affected, influences the other elements. For example, hormones can absolutely lay waste to emotional health and logic. Too much negative emotion effects us physically. Habit creates neural synapses that lead to physically perceived need for substances and activities. Ineffective coping with stress leads to too much output of chemicals from glands in our bodies and can create hormonal imbalance. And on and on they cycle goes. If we are going to fight an addiction to something there must be a holistic approach.

In the next few posts I will expand on each element and how it affects and is effected by addiction from my personal experience and perspective.