Pleasure Spectrum Syndromes (Substance Use/Abuse, Addictions to Substances and Beliefs, Fanaticism)

Abstract

The dopaminergic and endorphinergic reward pathways of the brain are critical for survival since they provide the pleasure drives for eating, love, and reproduction and involve the release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens and frontal lobes. Release of dopamine and the sensations of pleasure can be produced by substances such as alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, nicotine, marijuana, and other drugs, and by compulsive activities such as gambling, eating, and sex, and by risk taking behaviors. Genetic and epigenetic factors play an important role in such vulnerabilities. When there is a dysfunction of the brain reward cascade often as a result of genetically influenced hypodopaminergic state, the brain may compensate for the lack of pleasure by seeking an external source of dopaminergic stimulation. When memes arose, they provided a shortcut for pleasure as imitation of successful behavior. As memes evolved, they tended to attach themselves to the pleasure–reward mechanism as this is a sure way of ensuring replication. Some memes became experts in creating dopamine “high’s” to the point of addiction, often at the expense of the genetic needs of the individual, as in gambling and in religious experiences. This may be particularly facilitated in conditions of dissociation. In religious fanaticism, the search for this dopamine high may result in killing of the self and/or others (e.g., suicide bombing). Religious memes also attached themselves to the fear–anxiety system of the brain – fear of eternal damnation and suffering. Thus, armed with the brain mechanisms of ecstasy and terror, religions suppressed the memes geared to the interests of genes, such as reasoning, and engaged in religious wars for centuries. Inability to feel pleasure, anhedonia, is often seen in depression and schizophrenia and represents a hypodopaminergic state, usually a result of gene × meme interaction. Pleasure spectrum disorders represent a dopamine system dysregulation caused by gene × meme interaction. Addictions may occur in individuals with a hypodopaminergic reward-deficiency syndrome. Imitating others getting high with drugs (meme) may be an important component in addictions as well as in religious fanaticism. Pleasure spectrum disorders, with the exception of anhedonia, do not involve immediate gene-mediated suffering but are defined as problematic memetically, i.e., meme-defined disorders. Addiction represents an extreme of pleasure-seeking behavior where the degree of pleasure achieved through the substance or activity (or the unpleasure without it) far outweighs considerations for other genetic and memetic needs of the organism. Once established, addiction becomes a compulsion and blends into obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Education provides an individual with the ability to analyze and process memes concerned with obtaining pleasure, which includes substances, behaviors, activities, and ideals. An informed populace will choose not to use harmful substances even if they are legal and even marketed. Such a populace will also not become addicted to fanaticisms. Addictions that are ego-alien and compulsive should properly be considered to be an illness as the individual loses control over the activity even when it is obviously detrimental to his/her immediate health and well-being. The treatment for such illness should be individualized, taking into account the genetic and memetic constitution. Broad-spectrum anti-meme therapy and specific meme-oriented therapies may be used to neutralize the strong addictive meme.