itmeanscourage: (thoughtful)

[personal profile] itmeanscourage 2022-03-17 12:01 pm (UTC)(link)
That revelation made Isamu pause.

“Hmm… That runs counter to what a number of studies have found, but that does not mean it cannot be ruled out. After all, opioid and dopaminergic systems and the HPA axis can both be activated either by psychoactive drugs or by behaviors. So it is still plausible that for a subset of cases, the same biological mechanisms support the development of addiction as well as self-harming behaviors.”

Comorbidity at its finest. Wires getting crossed.
itmeanscourage: (shocked)

[personal profile] itmeanscourage 2022-03-19 01:31 am (UTC)(link)
Isamu’s eyes widened for a moment, though he felt no need to ask for clarification. He could easily read between the lines, and scoffed a hasty, “whatever releases dopamine in your nucleus accumbens, I suppose…”

That sort of thing was not a turn-on for the scientist. And unfortunately, very little scientific literature actually existed on that particular subject to fill in the gaps.