Abnormal brain structures hint at poor self-control and vulnerability to drug addiction

Our lives are full of instances where have to hold ourselves back. We stop ourselves from eating that tempting slice of cake to avoid putting on weight. We bite our tongues to avoid insulting our friends. We slam on the brakes to avoid killing a pedestrian. To quote Yoda: “Control! Control! You must learn control.” People with drug problems clearly have a problem with this. Their ability to resist their own impulses falters at the promise of the next hit. Now, scientists are starting to understand the changes in the brain that underlie these problems. Karen Ersche from the University of Cambridge found that drug users have abnormalities in parts of the brain that are important for inhibiting unwanted actions. These same anomalies even exist in the brains of their siblings, who don’t have any drug problems themselves. They could act as a marker for people who are vulnerable to ...