Brain Impediments of Success On New Years Resolutions

According to previous studies as well as new ones, the brain has always been a major part of an addiction. In the Boston Globe article, New Year's resolutions? Brain Can Sabotage Success, scientist Dr. Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse comments on the brain's want for immediate gratification, and how it effects New Years Resolutions, as it were. The truth is, it's similar to addiction. The Frontal Cortex, the part of the brain that makes decisions, is also influenced by the Striatum, which can turn habits into reflex, making the person do it without thinking. The Striatum is rich is rich in a pleasure-sensing chemical called Dopamine, which is fed to it by the Substania nigra through dopamine pathways in the brain. Dopamine drives the brain's reward pathway, conditioning habits-like alcohol or drugs. Once an activity is wired into the brain as a reflex, it's hard to get rid of. To change, the different routine must be practiced on a tight regular schedule, always at the same time, for a while. It is haphazard, the brain will never catch on. Biological impediments are not a reason to forget New Years Resolutions, but in order to get past them, we have to focus on making our selves do them.

Link to the article: New Year's resolutions? Brain Can Sabotage Success