By Michael Hill
Correspondent
Surfing the web — as addictive as heroin?
Dr. Petros Levounis says yes.
Dr. Levounis chairs the psychiatry department at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. He says his research, along with that of 31 coauthors, makes the case that addiction comes in many forms, not just alcohol, drugs or cigarettes.
“Much to our surprise, a lot of the biology and also the presentation of this disorder is quite similar to what we see with garden variety substance disorders like alcohol and heroin,” Dr. Levounis said. When asked what the similarity is, he said, “The obsession that people get with it, the inability to stop using or stop doing the behavior despite the deep knowledge that it’s bad for you.”
Dr. Levounis says substance addiction and behavioral addiction — gambling, internet surfing, kleptomania — go through very similar mechanisms in the brain but there’s a difference.
“The entry point is different. For the substance abuse it’s kind of clear cut. We know where alcohol works, we know where cocaine works. We do know where cigarettes work and we have figured all this out so we know when the addiction happens. Not so much for the behavioral addictions,” he said.
Ten years ago when it was suggested that someone could be addicted to sun tanning, Dr. Levounis’ reaction and opposition to it were visceral and he went on national television to say so.
“I was wrong,” he said.
What’s changed? Dr. Levounis says research in the neurobiology of addiction and seeing non-substance addiction in his own patients.
“The idea that there is such a qualitative difference between just enjoying something and being addicted to it just really struck me as very similar between substance abuse and behavior addictions,” he said.
“When it comes to addiction, we’re learning so much more now because of brain imagining,” said Dr. Peter Economou.
Dr. Economou treats patients for cognitive and behavioral addictions such as sex. He says what makes that and substance addictions similar is the release of dopamine and the brain’s pursuit of something rewarding.
“So the person might learn over time that this feels good and so physiologically their brain is seeking it so it’s not always done on a conscious level. It’s not like I’m saying I want my next high. It’s something that just feels like there’s a void. How do I fill that void? Oh, I remember that I’ve done this in the past, let me do that,” he said.
Economou and Levounis say there is no “stop” button for doubters of addictions. But there is non-medicinal treatment.
Right now, insurance will cover treatment for gambling addiction because it’s on the American Psychiatric Association‘s list of diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Dr. Levounis says he hopes research will lead to other behavioral addictions joining the list so addicts can get help.