addiction

How lasers can switch off cocaine addiction

Researchers who shined a laser light in a certain region of the brain -- stimulating the area associated with decision-making and impulse control -- were able to zap what they call "cocaine seeking" behaviors in addicts.

And while their work was on rats, their hope is that a similar technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS, currently used to improve symptoms of depression) will work on humans as well.… Read more

Does Facebook's new 'Home' put too much Facebook in your face? (podcast)

If you're one of the people who get Facebook's new Home software, your social-media life will be front and center whenever you pick up your phone. It's literally putting Facebook in your face.

While that may have appeal to heavy-duty Facebook users who want to be in constant touch with their social graph, it raises some issues about "presence." People have their phones with them almost all the time, including when they're interacting with friends, family, and work colleagues, and many of us (myself included) have a habit of paying attention to our phones … Read more

No sex (or smokes), please -- we're tweeting

Sex sells, and everyone knows how addictive cigarettes can be. But a new study suggests that for some Internet users, a little time alone with Facebook or Twitter is more alluring.

Well, make that some German Internet users.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the week-long study, conducted in Germany by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, showed that the temptation to tweet or post a Facebook status update is stronger than the urge to have sex or take a puff.

"Desires for media may be comparatively higher to resist because of their high availability," Wilhelm … Read more

Internet addiction fueled by gene mutation, scientists say

Internet addiction is real, researchers out of the University of Bonn say, and its source can be explained at the molecular level.

Researchers from the school's departments of psychology and neuroscience report in the September 2012 issue of the Journal of Addiction Medicine that a simple variation on the CHRNA4 gene results in a significantly higher prevalence of Internet addiction -- and particularly in women.

"Internet addiction is not a figment of our imagination," lead author Christian Montag says in a news release. "The current data already shows that there are clear indications for genetic causes of Internet addiction... If such connections are better understood, this will also result in important indications for better therapies."… Read more

Friday Poll: Is there a downside to your Facebook use?

At what juncture have you reached the Facebook point of no return? Maybe it's when you post the minutia of every meal you ate for seven days straight. Perhaps it's when you start having Farmville dreams.

It turns out Facebook addiction may be a real thing. It's a bit like what you see in "The Godfather." You may try to get out, but it keeps pulling you back in.

Much like "Star Wars," Facebook has a dark side. There are people who neglect family and work in exchange for time spent wrapped up in social networking. Some researchers have even suggested there is such thing as "Facebook depression" among adolescents, but the studies aren't very definitive.… Read more

MySpace got its groove back

HTC plays with streaming music, psychiatrists study Internet addiction, and MySpace beats on with the MySpace Music Player.

Links from Wednesday's episode of Loaded:

MySpace Music takes off HTC working on streaming music Apple releasing monthly labor reports Another solar company bankruptcy Internet addiction an official affliction? Subscribe:  iTunes (MP3) |  iTunes (320x180) |  iTunes (HD) |  RSS (MP3) |  RSS (320x180) |  RSS HD

Internet addiction could be dubbed official affliction in DSM-V

The so-called "bible" of the mental health profession is getting an update, and version 5.0 of the American Psychiatric Association's "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM) could add "Internet addiction" to its lengthy list of disorders.

The different iterations of the DSM have for decades been the go-to reference many psychiatrists use to diagnose patients. The manual has been no stranger to controversy over the years, including recent charges by some that it seems written to serve the interests of drug companies as much as those of patients.

But now the APA working group in charge of revising the DSM section on substance-related disorders has proposed adding a new non-substance based affliction--"Internet addiction."

In other words, Internet addiction could soon be classified along other listed DSM disorders like "cocaine dependence" or "Opioid abuse."… Read more

Jane's Addiction on the confluence of music and technology (Q&A)

The music and technology worlds are colliding. That's never been more apparent than at yesterday night's performance by Jane's Addiction. The concert was as much about entertaining a group of hardcore fans as it was about promoting LG's upcoming Thrill 4G, AT&T's first smartphone packing 3D capabilities.

Indeed, 3D was the key gimmick at the event, with random individuals selected to hold a Thrill 4G and tape the concert in 3D. LG will later take the footage shot and splice together what it bills as the first 3D user-generated concert. It's unclear, … Read more

Taking a dim view of 3D in smartphones

LG Electronics' Thrill 4G is the wireless industry's latest attempt to push 3D capabilities into consumers' hands.

But it's unclear if consumers are ready to grab hold of it yet.

3D is the latest feature to be crammed in the increasingly Swiss Army-knife-like smartphone. Like with televisions, the feature is getting aggressive marketing support. But despite the marketing campaigns, the feature has been little more than a gimmick. And like 3D televisions, there's been tepid interest.

"3D is just one of an onslaught of features that end up on a phone even if people don't … Read more