Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id NAA09843 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-bounces@mmu.ac.uk); Tue, 28 Aug 2001 13:50:32 +0100 From: Philip Jonkers <P.A.E.Jonkers@phys.rug.nl> X-Authentication-Warning: rugth1.phys.rug.nl: www-data set sender to jonkers@localhost using -f To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Subject: RE: Spoiled Reward-Pathway Hypothesis Message-ID: <999002909.3b8b931d9c96e@rugth1.phys.rug.nl> Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2001 14:48:29 +0200 (CEST) References: <2D1C159B783DD211808A006008062D3101746019@inchna.stir.ac.uk> In-Reply-To: <2D1C159B783DD211808A006008062D3101746019@inchna.stir.ac.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit User-Agent: IMP/PHP IMAP webmail program 2.2.5 X-Originating-IP: 129.125.13.3 Sender: fmb-bounces@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Quoting Vincent Campbell <v.p.campbell@stir.ac.uk>:
> I'm prepared to be laughed at here, but what about the Giant Panda?
> It's
> not exactly adapted for a bamboo only diet, isn't this addictive
> behaviour?
I've been off for a week, so sorry for these late replies...
What inspired you to say this Vincent? To the best of my
knowledge, Panda's are highly adapted to eating bamboo; they have
suitably tough throats and stomachs to handle bamboo trunks and
splinters. Therefore I don't, in any way, find it possible to
conceive of this vital activity as damaging addictive behavior.
On the contrary.
> One problem, I suppose, is how one might define addictive behaviour in
> animals in their natural environments, given that they largley
> do not have the "free" time as it were, to indulge behaviours
> as humans can thanks to our (in the developed parts of the
> world at any rate) having taken away the time spent gathering
> food etc. Surely the lab experiments demonstrate the
> principle that animals are capable of addictive behaviour
> given the "right" circumstances?
Allow me to present you with a definition cooked up by myself.
Addictive behavior: a type of behavior that gains dominance over
other behaviors to such an extent that the well-being or life-
expectancy of the relevant party is reduced.
Corrolary: If the addictive behavior has overshadowed attention
to more beneficial or vital types of behaviors, it can be said
that the addictive behavior is damaging.
> There's a rboader problem around defining things as evidence of
> addictive behaviour when they're not related to physiology-
> e.g. some drug use can be addictive, but is say, gambling
> genuinely addictive in the same way? I believe the psychology
> community (and policymakers) largely think so. But
> then, what do I know...
Drugs, sex, gambling, eating... when exercising these activities
to an addictive repetitive degree they all have a common
neurochemical denominator. That is, they affect
the brain in a similar way. So yes, gambling can truly be
addictive.
Philip.
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