DOMINATIONOne “trick” is the use of unexpected triggers that lead
to craving: photos taken with friends at a tailgate party, a
favorite glass, a bottle opener, even a kitchen knife used
to slice lemons. These triggers may be so subtle that the
person may not recognize them until after they succumb to
temptation.
But getting rid of the triggers isn’t enough. Scientists
have recently learned about a completely unexpected and
somewhat frightening tactic the enemy has at its disposal.
Consider an alcoholic who, for no apparent reason, decides
to switch up his routine one day and take an alternate route
home from work. He happens to pass a bar he used to go
to and is overcome by craving. When he speaks about his
relapse in his next therapy session, he has no idea how it
happened. He doesn’t connect the seemingly innocent
decision to change his routine with the relapse.
But this relapse wasn’t a coincidence. Scientists recently
discovered that being addicted to alcohol changes the way
certain segments of DNA work, segments that are essential
for the normal functioning of the dopamine control circuits
in the frontal lobes. A key enzyme is suppressed, interfering
with the neurons’ ability to transmit signals. It’s like a hacker
taking out the enemy’s communication channels right in the
middle of a battle. Thus an alcoholic may not want to drive
past his old haunt, but the enemy has impaired his ability
to appreciate the consequences of his decision to take the
new route home.
The research that found the dangerous changes in DNA
was done in rats, so we’re not completely sure if the same
thing happens in humans, but the results were striking.
Rats with addiction-modified DNA drank more alcohol, and
they drank even when the alcohol was spiked with quinine,
which has a bitter taste that rats normally avoid. This finding