I'm not prepared to debate the science, but the human connection (or rat connection I guess) account is only one way to look at it. Another is that what the ra

I'm not prepared to debate the science, but the human connection (or rat connection I guess) account is only one way to look at it. Another is that what the rats needed was an enriched environment, with anything to do other than take drugs. Enriched environments loom large in a lot of psych, development, and neuroscience research. This certainly accords with sub-acute 'addictive' behaviors in my own life -- there are no more horrific episodes of binge-eating, drinking, and general shitty life decisions as when I'm at odds and ends, sitting around the house, with nothing to do, or nothing I feel like doing. Which has implications, in the internet age, of what it means to be an enriched environment. This folk psychology also dovetails with one of the article takeaways -- throwing people in jail where all they can do is rot is unlikely to do anybody much good in the long run.