Rats play the odds in gambling task

Rats are able to play the odds in a "gambling task" designed by scientists to test the biology of addiction.

In the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, researchers describe how the rodents developed a "strategy" in a timed task where they make choices to earn treats. The rodents avoided high-reward options because these carried high risks of punishment - their sugar pellet supply being cut off for a period.

To further test their model, the team looked at how the rats' performance was affected by drugs that altered levels of two neurotransmitters, dopamine and serotonin.

These are signalling chemicals in the brain that are both thought to play an important role in addiction.

Researchers hope to develop treatments for "pathological gambling"

The rats were given a drug that reduced the amount of serotonin circulating in their brains. This impaired their ability to make good decisions, and to successfully play the odds.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8105963.stm

The Economics of Workaholism

A workaholic is a compulsive worker, someone who is prone to believing in a destructive illusion that s/he can conquer the challenges of life simply by putting in more time and effort at work. Working hard could be likened to other addictions like gambling in that there is a substance (adrenalin from work) and a process (the actual practice of working). It's estimated that about 30% of people could be classified as workaholics and unsurprisingly those who spend more hours on the job or earn more money are more likely to be workaholics. You might think- so what's the problem? Well the drawback is that people may be literally killing themselves through overwork. In Japan they even have a term for death from overwork- karoshi! Five percent of deaths from cardiovascular disease and cerebrovascular disease amongst those of the typical working age range have been attributed to workaholism. There are also several other problems such as the effect of parental overworking on children and overworking has been shown to be related to poorer perceptions of ones spouse and marriage though cause and effect could be an issue here!

The authors argue that for workaholics current work increases the desire (marginal utility) for future work (known as “reinforcement”), lowers the utility from a given amount of working (“tolerance”), and imposes future costs in terms of health, and other, problems. If workaholics either fail to recognize these effects, or do recognize them but have time-inconsistent preferences and imperfect self-control, then government intervention arguably can increase their utility as measured consistently.

This is definitely an interesting and understudied area, though when you come across a paper on workaholism at eleven on a Sunday night you have to wonder is someone trying to tell you something!

WE SHOULD NOT HAVE WORKED ON THIS PAPER

Addicts underestimate the power of their own cravings

Sated drug addicts who have just had a hit, underestimate the influence their craving will have on them in the future, researchers have shown. The finding echoes similar research showing that when we're in a satisfied state we underestimate the motivational force of hunger, thirst and sexual desire.
"Our results suggest that addicts under-appreciate the effects of deprivation when they are not actually deprived", the researchers said. This tendency to underestimate the power of craving could help explain why people start to take drugs which they've been warned will be highly addictive.
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Badger, G.J., Bickel, W.K., Giordano, L.A., Jacobs, E.A., Loewenstein, G. &
Marsch, L. (2007). Altered states: The impact of immediate craving on the
valuation of current and future opioids. Journal of Health Economics, In
Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2007.01.002