Want a way out? Find a rat park

What can rats tell us about addiction? Rats in experiments show that they will become addicted to heroine if given the opportunity. It’s because heroine feels good, right? Well, maybe not.

This scientist, Alexander, was bothered by the typical rat/heroine experiment. He “was bothered by the fact that the cages in which the rats were isolated were small, with no potential for stimulation beyond the heroin. Alexander thought: Of course they all got high. What else were they supposed to do? In response to this perceived shortcoming, Alexander created what we now call “the rat park,” a cage approximately 200 times larger than the typical isolation cage, with Hamster wheels and multi-colored balls to play with, plenty of tasty food to eat, and spaces for mating and raising litters. And he put not one rat, but 20 rats (of both genders) into the cage. Then, and only then, did he mirror the old experiments, offering one bottle of pure water and one bottle of heroin water. And guess what? The rats ignored the heroin.”

Well, shit. I don’t know about you, but for me that explains a whole lot!!

www.psychologytoday.com/blog/love-and-sex-in-the-digital-age/201509/the-opposite-addiction-is-connection