Rewiring Your Dopamine Systems with Neil deGrasse Tyson and Anna Lembke

Can you get addicted to anything? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly explore the science of addiction, dopamine pathways, and what social media is doing to our brains with psychiatrist and Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic, Anna Lembke, MD.

Is there such a thing as an addictive personality? We talk about what triggers the release of dopamine and how the reward pathway works. Is love a form of addiction? Learn about maladaptive consumptive behavior, using addiction as coping, and the idea of “drug of choice.” How do we all differ in our addictions?

How do you deal with addiction from a scientific standpoint? We discuss addictions that may be accepted by mainstream society. What happens if you stop making dopamine? Learn about Parkinson’s disease and treatment, and how ADHD impacts a person's relationship to dopamine.

Find out about modern addictions like gambling and social media addictions. What can we do to prevent addiction in the face of increased access? How do you ensure the security of the mind in different age groups? How do you prevent kids from getting addicted to social media and technology? We explore the impacts of social media on children and adults: are we hardwired to crave more extreme content?

Thanks to our Patrons christoffer olsen, Miguel Mata, Christina Hansen, Steven Johnston, Holly MIller, and Kelley VosBurgh for supporting us this week.

NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free.

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About StarTalk:
Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up!

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00:00 - Introduction: Addiction
03:30 - Can You Have an Addictive Personality?
05:50 - The Role of Dopamine
12:44 - Drug of Choice
14:25 - Risk Factors & Stressors
16:56 - Treating Addictions
20:30 - What Can You Get Addicted To?
25:15 - Dopamine Fasting & Deficits
32:12 - Modern Addiction: Gambling
34:34 - Why Is Social Media So Addictive?
37:08 - Protecting The Next Generation
47:18 - Are We Hardwired For Extreme Content?

[StarTalk]

How do you think we can mitigate social media addiction?

[craigslater]

Who would have thought a comedian would be so across addiction and depression. Chuck is absolutely locked in in this discussion ❤

[TheMeneersteven]

Addiction is often overlooked. Props to Neil & the rest for shedding light on this terrible issue that people have to deal with.

[Rickster]

You must bring this professor back! Wonderfully eye opening!

[jphendo]

I have only somewhat recently discovered this channel, and I am not sad to be addicted to this show.

[RyanHess-nb]

Startalk and Dr. Tyson is the only stream I auto like before even watching. Way better than anything on Netflix or hulu.

[s_rgo]

chuck is a national treasure.. not many people actually make me laugh out loud. he does.

[Msvalexvalex]

Chuck's questions are getting better and better, but he manages to still be hilarious.

[hessambayanifar]

Loved Chuck's engagement here in this one

[fortyfour]

I can say it sucks. I never watched tik tok or shorts until last February. For whatever reason, I started posting stuff and watching more often. In the blink of an eye I was obsessed. I fell into the trap. I got depressed about it. The short videos used to make me happy ….the thought of watching had a dopamine response. Once I consciously thought about how much time I was wasting in it, it was horribly depressing.I made the decision to stop. Simple as that. I seriously limit my watching and feel so much better about life in general.

[msfunkenstein]

I just finished my first week without weed 😊 after being a functional alcoholic in my 20s and smoking weed for 9 years, this is my first time being clean since my (quite horrible) childhood. Thanks for the motivation (and the dopamine that comes from watching Startalk) ❤

[yashkantfamily]

This is one of the most important videos on YouTube. Thank you for creating ❤

[thefragrancelab]

The guest professor is very intelligent and really represented her expertise well 🎉

[hunndigg]

Thank you for posting this. I'm clean for a long time now and I love the fact my favorite show is sheding light on this and thank you all at Star talk for bringing it to light. Curb the stigma 😊

[J.QNobody]

These guys have class. I like how he corrected himself for poking fun at being addicted to water, not knowing some people are.

[kristinwright]

Great episode. I am on Naltrexone now for moderating my alcohol intake and it works really well. I'm happy with a couple of glasses of wine rather than a bottle. And I can see my own behavior in her talking about stress causing us to run back to the comfort of the addiction.

[Bmayo]

Chuck’s insights and genuine love for more knowledge (in addition to being flat-out funny); He’s an undervalued treasure. Dr. Tyson was smart in having him as a co-host!

[JoeFromThatPlace]

Addiction is a cycle that is very difficult to break on your own.

[PaulSinnema]

Chuck was very versed on this subject. But Anna was here to acknowledge his very accurate quotes. Very nice talk again, as always. Just love these talks. Thank you very mutch (again). Regards Paul

[bamabob]

I always love it when Chuck and Gary are on here together ❤️