The right brain and dependence

Does dependency belong to a side of the brain?

Researchers from Indiana University have used positron emission tomography and functional MRI to study cerebral behavior when we would offer beer or Gatorade to beer fans.

When offered beer, once the subjects started drinking, they wanted more. The same did not happen when they were drinking Gatorade. The flavor of the beer lit up both frontal lobes as well as the right anterior striatum.

The anterior right striatum is a deep brain area linked to behavior and reward.

When one considers that the role of the basal ganglia (of which the anterior striatum is a component) is to filter the afferences from the motor cortex, we can think that an unequal activation of the motor cortices could create an asymmetry of stimulation of the basal ganglia.

Posturology tends to balance the activity of the motor cortices by stimulating its afferences symmetrically (parietal lobe and cerebellum, for example), via the skin of the foot and the musculature of the eyes.

Could it be then that, if we are to have an impact on the activation of the motor areas of the brain, we could play a role in diminishing the impact of a dominant right brain and its consequences as far as dependence on alcohol goes?

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