JGWeissman comments on Antagonizing Opioid Receptors for (Prevention of) Fun and Profit - Less Wrong

35 Post author: Yvain 05 May 2010 02:40PM

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Tags: motivation psychology akrasia

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Comment author: JGWeissman 05 May 2010 06:30:11PM 5 points [-]

I'm kind of confused by the whole idea because I don't understand the lack of side effects. Knocking out the brain's learning system to cure alcoholism seems disproportionate, and I would also expect naltrexone to interfere with the ability to experience happiness (which many people seem to like).

From the Wikipedia article:

For tablet form, a patient following the Sinclair Method takes a 50 mg tablet one hour before every drinking session.

So it seems that the method is to time the disruption of opiod reinforcement to target when the person is drinking. Side effects may therefore be limited to other activities that typically coincide with drinking.

Though this also raises the issue of meta-akrasia, wouldn't people learn to not like taking the tablets if they don't enjoy anything they do for the next hour?

Comment author: gwern 05 May 2010 07:23:24PM *  7 points [-]

Though this also raises the issue of meta-akrasia, wouldn't people learn to not like taking the tablets if they don't enjoy anything they do for the next hour?

I don't think so. This is the same idea as in my melatonin post about making yourself go to sleep; hyperbolic discounting means you can be rational about taking the pill well in advance, even if by the time it kicks in, your preferences have changed to prefer to have not taken the pill.

(And not enjoying things isn't the same as displeasure or pain, after all. People don't particularly enjoy most of what they do - it's the extremes which are unusual & rare.)

Comment author: JulianMorrison 06 May 2010 11:19:46AM 2 points [-]

if they don't enjoy anything they do for the next hour?

Does it affect the feeling of enjoyment? I suspect it won't, because enjoyment and reward are distinct.

I wonder if this stuff can be used as a diet pill?

Comment author: Gorgias 22 May 2015 12:23:54AM 0 points [-]

It's worth noting that for many alcoholics, "start of a drinking session" means "waking up in the morning"

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