Brain regions related to common sense addiction in boutique coffee have been identified

Neuroscientists at the University of California, Berkeley have now identified the exact location of the brain that causes addiction and obsessive-compulsive behavior. They found that the orbitofrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex in the brain are responsible for mediating our choices.

Despite the dangers of drug, alcohol, smoking, gluttony, gambling and theft, what drives some people to keep doing these things?

Neuroscientists at the University of California, Berkeley have now identified the exact location of the brain that causes addiction and obsessive-compulsive behavior. They found that the orbitofrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex in the brain are responsible for mediating our choices. This startling new discovery is expected to pave the way for more targeted treatment for drug use, alcohol abuse and even obsessive-compulsive disorder. Jonathan Wallis, an associate professor of psychology and neurology at the University of California, Berkeley, said: "the more you learn about the brain's decision-making circuits, the better it will be treated with drugs, behavior, or deep brain stimulation."

The study is published online in the journal Nature Neurology.

After Wallis discovered that addicts need to satisfy their desires for a long time, he aroused interest in the study of the brain mechanism behind it. "what makes it so difficult for the brain not to choose them?" he asked. What prevents the brain from making healthy choices? "

Wallis and colleagues studied the orbitofrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex in the frontal lobe of the brain, because previous studies have shown that damage to these two areas can affect patients' decision-making. Although these patients appear to be completely normal, they tend to make chaotic decisions in their lives. A similar situation can be seen in people with chronic drug use, alcohol abuse and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

"they will divorce, resign, lose friends and give away all their money." Wallis said. "all the decisions they made were bad."

To verify that these two areas are related to decision-making, the researchers measured neural activity in the brains of rhesus monkeys as they played games. The game is to let the monkeys identify pictures that are more likely to spray water and juice into their mouths.

The monkeys quickly realized which pictures often spurted a lot of fruit juice, and the researchers were able to see the monkey's brain activity and location. The brains of rhesus monkeys are similar to those of humans in making basic decisions. The game is designed to see how these animals weigh the pros and cons.

The results show that the orbitofrontal cortex mediates neural activity based on the value or "bet" of the decision. Neural activity in this part of the brain can easily change between making important decisions (such as which school to go to or what job to do) and unimportant decisions (such as coffee or tea, burritos or pizza). However, in the case of addiction and orbitofrontal cortex damage, the nerve activity in these areas does not change according to the importance of the decision, and these patients have difficulties in making health decisions.

The study also found that when the anterior cingulate cortex functions normally, we quickly know whether the decisions we make are consistent with our wishes. If the food we eat makes us sick, we won't eat it again. But in people with dysfunctional anterior cingulate cortex, these signals are lost, so they continue to make the wrong decisions.

Understanding how addicts make decisions can help us get rid of some of the drawbacks of addiction. However, Wallis warns that the findings cannot be used as a basic principle of addiction. Long-term drug and alcohol abuse can change the brain's circuits, which can cause these people to make unhealthy decisions. He says the study allows us to target the brain's risk-balancing and decision-making centers by understanding the mechanisms of addiction.