What lies behind a choice?

Whilst eagerly waiting to receive my copy of Robert Sapolski’s latest book, Determined: The Science Behind the Life without Free Will I am reviewing his Stanford lectures on human behavioural biology, largely based on his previous book – Behave: the Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst.

I am still fascinated now, as I was the first time when I encountered his research, of how relevant his theory is when applied to addiction behaviours. Especially when it comes to understanding relapse and why people “choose” to start a certain behaviour or behavioural pattern which they were so desperately hoping and trying to avoid.

If I would have one penny for every person that told me “I don’t know why I have done that… it just happened…”

In his lectures Sapolsky takes us through an incredible journey that are aimed at convincing us that no behaviour “just happens”. But rather there are a number of complex factors that shape each and every of our decisions and behaviours. And this factors spread all the way from immediate brain response back to long-term social causes.

Imagine that you have just done something. Something reprehensible, or wonderful, or floating ambiguously in between. What occurred in the prior second that triggers the behaviour? This the province of the nervous system. What? occurred a few second to a few minutes before, that triggered the nervous system to suggest that behaviour? This is the world of the sensory stimuli, much of it sensed unconsciously. What occurred in the prior hours to days to change the sensitivity of the nervous system to such stimuli? Acute action of hormones. What happened in your life in the few days to months before? This is the world of life stressors and changes. And so on,? all the way back to childhood, to the moment of your birth and even to the evolutionary pressures played out over the previous generations that started the ball rolling.

The Seconds before

Any behaviour that we exert first takes place in our head. It is simulated in our brain and then project out as a possible choice that we can act out. This is the wonderful world of neurotransmitters and their role into deciding neurological processes occurring a few second before a behaviour. They act like on and off switches for our intentions. Out of them dopamine, play a pivotal role in addiction , bur directing our attention and intention towards real or perceived rewards. You can read more about this here. A person in recovery might encounter a cue associated with past addictive behaviours — a place, a smell, an image — which can activate dopamine pathways and compel them toward relapse.

Minutes to Hours before

Expanding the timeline to minutes and hours before a relapse, comes in the world of endocrinology and the role of stress and environmental context. Stress hormones like cortisol can enhance the craving for addictive substances as a quick relief mechanism. Understanding this can help people in recovery and therapists predict and mitigate high-risk scenarios, potentially preventing relapse by managing stress through healthier alternatives.

Days to months before

In the days to months before a behaviour, we focus on the brain’s ability to learn and rewire itself and we can see how longer-term biological changes influence actions. For people in recovery, this might involve changes in brain chemistry and neural circuitry due to prolonged family or work conflicts, which can predispose them to relapse. Therapeutic interventions, such as cognitive-behavioural therapy, aim to rewire these neural pathways, teaching the brain to respond differently to triggers.

Adulthood and Adolescence

Sapolsky stresses the impact of developmental stages, such as adolescence, on behaviour. This is when our possible vulnerabilities entangle with a vast array of precipitating factors. For addiction, vulnerabilities during these critical periods can lead to higher risks of developing substance dependencies and challenging recovery later in life. This insight underlines the importance of early intervention and targeted ?education and support for younger individuals at risk of addiction.

Back to Childhood

Childhood experiences play a foundational role in shaping behaviour, including the propensity for addiction. Early exposure to stress, trauma, or parental addiction use can markedly increase the likelihood of addiction. There is now a large body of research emphasizing the impact of adverse childhood experiences on developing addictive behaviours. And these addictive behaviours are believed to develop as a protective, coping mechanism against such adversities. Understanding these influences can guide more effective prevention strategies and support systems that focus on early life interventions.

The Deep History

Taking an evolutionary perspective, Sapolsky explores how natural selection has shaped human behaviour. Certain traits that increase dopamine response, once advantageous for survival, may predispose individuals to addiction. This evolutionary view helps frame addiction as a disorder of biological systems, rather than a moral failing, shifting the approach toward treatment and stigma reduction. That is not to say that there is a gene for addiction, but rather to understand that there a certain biological vulnerabilities and predispositions which, when, only when, interacting with early stressors and various precipitating ?environmental factors could lead one towards developing maladaptive coping behaviours.

Morality and Religion

Sapolsky also discusses how societal constructs like morality and religion impact behaviours. In addiction, moral judgments can compound shame and hinder recovery, whereas understanding the biological bases of behaviour can foster compassion and more effective, humane approaches to addiction treatment.

The power of togetherness

There is a special focus on the importance of understanding how in-group and out-group dynamics sheds light on social influences on addiction. Recovery is often hindered or helped by social context—supportive environments can enhance recovery, while isolative or judgmental settings can precipitate relapse. Sapolsky's discussion encourages a community-based approach to addiction treatment, emphasizing support, empathy, and connection.

Conclusion

40 hours of lectures and 700 Behave pages later, it becomes pretty clear that no behaviour “just happens”. Sapolsky’s theory offers profound insights into the biological complexities of human behaviour, with significant implications for understanding addiction and relapse. By integrating science and humanity, he provides a framework that not only elucidates the possible sources of addictive behaviours but also illuminates paths toward more effective treatment and compassionate understanding. For professionals in healthcare, therapy, and social work, his ideas offer essential perspectives for enhancing approaches to addiction treatment and supporting sustained recovery.

Of course, interesting questions emerge about the implications of embracing a deterministic approach attributing every behaviour to a zillion factors of biology and circumstance, but that is to be tackled in another post…