Information About Addiction
In order be able to tell if one is addicted to on-line games they must
first have some form of a working definition of addiction. A panel of
psychologists and addiction specialists met in January of '03 to
discuss the ever-growing population of on-line gaming addiction and came
up with the folllowing defenition-it is psychological, it takes away from your life;
it reduces your motivation to do things outside of the one activity.
With a working definition in place, one can decide if they are addicted. Now i'll talk
about what happens to the brain when addicted, why it happens and what effect
this addiction can have on the body.
When something creates a pleasureable sensation in the body something takes place
in the brain, a neurotransmitter called dopamine is released and dopamine gives
a feeling of euphoria, a.k.a. happiness. People play a game they enjoy and it can
create an increase in the release of this specific neurotransmitter. This exess of
dopamine is the same in people addicted to cocaine and alcohol. As stated before, the
release of dopamine makes people feel good and when people feel good they like to
continue the activity that makes them feel good. This positive reinforcement makes people
begin to play more and more and thus the addiction has begun to take hold. After long periods
of gaming the neurotransmitter dopamine runs out and the feel good sensation ceases to be but
the addiction has already taken hold. When the dopamine runs out there is a "crash" similar to
that of a cocaine "crash." A study done in 1999 did a PET scan on people claiming to be addicted
to on-line gambling sites confirmed an increase in the release of dopamine. When the addiction
is full-blown the addict chooses to play over other priorities including sleep. After a few days
of no sleep the body starts acting strange including hallucinations which have led to suicide
and homicide. According to the experts, the addiction is real.
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