The science of neurology has created a paradigm shift in our basic understanding of the structure of the brain and the rest of the human nervous system. It has taken a long time, and a large group of doctors, clinicians and assorted scientists to piece together the ways in which this new knowledge of the brain has direct application to the states of mind and body we call addiction, alcoholism, or drug dependence.

When I first began following the subject of addiction in the early 1990s, the addiction field was still small, the insights highly tentative. However, what I had originally viewed as a series of potential breakthroughs in addiction research very rapidly became the tip of an enormous iceberg: brain science, and the revolutionary new directions represented by modern biology. Read more →

Refined sugars have only relatively recently appeared in the diets of most people. Regulatory pathways that balance calorie intake and energy expenditure and reward pathways help the body regulate ingestion of these sweeteners, as well as other foods. The overconsumption of refined sugars, including sucrose and fructose, in beverages and prepared foods, undoubtedly contributes to the obesity epidemic that is escalating in the United States and throughout other industrialized countries around the world. Obesity is also linked to inactivity, economic considerations, and the ready availability of food, but is the real problem that these sweeteners act like a drug, leading to a cycle of food use and reward and addiction? Read more →

As Michael Moore ventures deeper and deeper into politics, his film-making abilities are getting better and better. I enjoyed Sicko for its slick cinematography and the powerful use of disturbing images and stories. Since its release in June 29, 2007, it is clear that it will be overwhelmingly successful at the box-office, and is sure to do well across the world markets for anti-Americana. And for once, I am convinced anti-Moore critics are temporarily on the back seat. Read more →