This article about heroin addicts developing an affection for their needles akin to a love affair reminds me of the uber-nifty chapter in Mind Hacks about using your caffeine habit to develop good habits [PDF link].

I’m not 100 percent clear on how heroin affects the brain, but I remember reading that one of its side effects is that it directly triggers the chemical production centers in the brain that cause addiction, hence it being amongst the most addictive drugs out there. In Mind Hacks, Stafford and Webb say of caffeine:

“Via the dopaminergic system, caffeine stimulates a region of the subcortex
(the brain beneath the cerebral cortex) called the nucleus accumbens,
a part of the brain known to be heavily involved in feelings of pleasure and
reward. Sex, food, all addictive drugs, and even jokes cause an increased
neural response in this area of the brain. What happens with addictive drugs
is that they chemically hack the brains evolved circuitry for finding things
rewarding – the ability to recognize the good things in life and learn to do
more of them.”

So, considering that drugs like caffeine, cocaine and heroin stimulate the same region of the brain that is also stimulated by sex, food and fun, it makes total sense that addicts have a sense of love attached to the very objects that provided such a stimulus. It’s simple cause and effect, really. Even though we consciously know it’s the drug doing the work, the addict’s visual and tactile inputs tell the brain that it’s the needle. And, like I passionately love my wife because her love triggers my dopminergic system, so an addict passionately loves their needle for the exact same reason. The brain is so totally unbelievable sometimes.