Some people are attracted to risky behaviors, including situations that compromise health, physical integrity, but also finance, stability, etc. Almost all of us have some kind of adventurer, but we generally don’t show that aspect in the face of very high risks. .
Attraction to risky behaviors includes, for example, having sex without the necessary protection, driving at high speed or in a drunken state, not following traffic signs, hiking or engaging in dangerous activities without the necessary preparation or equipment, participating in gambling, and betting big. sums of money, and many others.
“I don’t regret taking risks because of what I was interested in. “Arthur Miller?
Behaviors that compromise safety or stability are risky behaviors. There are also, of course, risks calculated to achieve the objectives considered important, in this case all necessary precautions are taken to minimize a possible negative effect.
A group of scientists from Stanford University (USA) has published a study on this subject in the journal Nature and concluded that there are a series of neural circuits that regulate risky behaviors, the studies were carried out with rats, without However, they concluded that these neural circuits are also found in birds, wasps, bees, and humans.
Research results indicate that attraction to risky behaviors is regulated by a small group of neurons. These neurons are located in the nucleus of Accumbens (NAcc), which is “the center of pleasure” and is located in a central and internal place. position of the. This is an area that has to do with the reward system, where there are neurons related to pleasure and addictions.
Scientists also concluded that attraction to risky behaviors is associated with pleasure. Everything indicates that when risks are taken, in some people, there is increased dopamine production. As a result, such behaviors create a satisfying sense of well-being. be in some people.
Karl Deisseroth is a professor of Bioengineering at Stanford University, one of his main contributions is that he was one of the fathers of optogenetics, a revolutionary method that uses light to control cells, mainly neurons, with this method, an area of the brain it is stimulated and changes are observed, in this way it is possible to define the areas that control certain types of behavior.
Deisseroth conducted an experiment using optogenetics to stimulate the accumbens nucleus, modulating dopamine receptors, i. e. somehow reducing the relationship between risk behaviors and dopamine production, this experiment was conducted with a group of rats.
In this way, the mice that took more risks suddenly became very conservative, when the researchers stopped applying the method, the rats returned to their normal state, which has allowed us to show that there is a close relationship between the attraction to the risk behaviors. and the production of dopamine.
Attraction to risky behaviors plays an important role in the evolution of individuals and the entire human species, if humans always behaved too cautiously and conservatively, we could hardly grow or broaden our horizons, humanity owes its evolution to the primitive men who dared to experiment to obtain fire , an element they also feared.
Similarly, a dose of risk is important in anyone’s life, that’s what we call ‘salt out of your comfort zone’, every time we face the unknown there are many elements beyond our control, however, only then can we learn and become better people. Moreover, the unknown also brings positive emotions into our lives.
However, there are cases where the attraction to risky behaviors becomes compulsive, in such cases there is no end goal, the goal is simply to physically feel the sensations of danger physically and chemically, these types of behaviors are very similar to those of an addict. In general, they contain a strong self-destructive component and can be associated with disguised depression.