The word addict comes from the Latin addictus, meaning both “devoted” and “bound to.” Some neuroscientists have mused that all devotions—between lovers or between caregiver and child—are a kind of addiction. They point to similarities in the brain between adoration and dependence. When heartbroken young adults see a photo of their beloved, their brains instantly shift into a state resembling an addict’s cravings for cocaine. When a mother gazes at her baby, her brain’s reward system becomes activated in a way that neuroscientists compare to a drug high. The scent of her infant’s skin can
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