I have been organizing my papers over the weekend and I found this 1986 paper from Pain journal which describes the first ever case recorded of a woman addicted to deep brain stimulation implant.
The described patient (48 years old) has been suffering from chronic pain for over 15 years, with a recorded history of heavy addiction to opium-based painkillers and alcohol. It was established by psychiatrists that the best course of treatment for the pain would be to use an implant located in thalamus. Indeed, during the self-stimulation the pain has been removed, but as a unexpected side effect, she has been also experiencing an erotic sensation (although without orgasm).
As a result, she started stimulating herself throughout the day, neglecting family commitments and personal hygiene. She also developed ulceration on the top of her finger used to adjust the amplitude dial for brain implant. Over the two years after the implant was installed, her compulsive use of the stimulation dial has been associated with 'frequent attacks of anxiety, depersonalization, periods of psychogenic polydipsia and virtually complete inactivity' [1]. She also developed a heart disturbance (paroxysmal atrial tachycardia).
I read this paper thinking about those experiments with rats who pressed button every second to produce the pleasant stimulation via brain implant, until they died from exhaustion. How closely related we are all in the animal kingdom...
[1] Potenoy, R. K., Jarden, J. O., Sidtis, J. J., Lipton, R. B., Foley K. M., Rottenberg, D. A. (1986) Compulsive Thalamic Self-Stimulation: a Case with Metabolic, Electrophysical and Behavioral Correlates. Pain 27: 277-290. [you can access this paper for free here]
The described patient (48 years old) has been suffering from chronic pain for over 15 years, with a recorded history of heavy addiction to opium-based painkillers and alcohol. It was established by psychiatrists that the best course of treatment for the pain would be to use an implant located in thalamus. Indeed, during the self-stimulation the pain has been removed, but as a unexpected side effect, she has been also experiencing an erotic sensation (although without orgasm).
As a result, she started stimulating herself throughout the day, neglecting family commitments and personal hygiene. She also developed ulceration on the top of her finger used to adjust the amplitude dial for brain implant. Over the two years after the implant was installed, her compulsive use of the stimulation dial has been associated with 'frequent attacks of anxiety, depersonalization, periods of psychogenic polydipsia and virtually complete inactivity' [1]. She also developed a heart disturbance (paroxysmal atrial tachycardia).
I read this paper thinking about those experiments with rats who pressed button every second to produce the pleasant stimulation via brain implant, until they died from exhaustion. How closely related we are all in the animal kingdom...
[1] Potenoy, R. K., Jarden, J. O., Sidtis, J. J., Lipton, R. B., Foley K. M., Rottenberg, D. A. (1986) Compulsive Thalamic Self-Stimulation: a Case with Metabolic, Electrophysical and Behavioral Correlates. Pain 27: 277-290. [you can access this paper for free here]
Keep in mind that she had "a recorded history of heavy addiction to opium-based painkillers and alcohol", which I would interpret as a general tendency towards addiction. I don't really think that her implant was the problem, just as I don't think that painkillers and alcohol were the problem. The problem was that she couldn't control herself well enough.
ReplyDeleteI mean, people generally don't die of hunger and dehydration just because they have a willing sexual partner.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more :)
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