What if the very place Lindsay Lohan's career seems headed is the same place that holds the clues to why it appears on life support? Or how it can be resuccitated? Consider this. The DNA that makes up the genetic material in us is only 10% human and 90% bacterial. Hard to imagine that we are only 10% human (unless you watch the current political debates). What is this ecosystem doing living with us? These microorganixms eat the same foods we eat and depend on their human host for survival. We also depend on them to produce substances we need to survive. Is it plausible to speculate that this ecosystem is capable of modulating the behavior of the host to get more food (as in obesity where the microbiome is altered), or even affecting how we behave in other situations (as in addiction)? These are questions many scientists are now exploring as they study the microbiome in the intestine, known to the non-scientist as poop.
Addiciton originates in brain chemistry, is influenced by genetics, and triggered by stress. The very brain chemistry that provokes the bad feelings that result in addictive disorders also might originate in the colon, where our microbiome and mammalian tissues come in contact. Could it be that the microbiome is producing neurotransmitters that affect behavior in the human host? We have no idea: however, this speculation suggests that what lands in the toilet may hold the clues about these brain-gut interactions.
Neurotransmitters are the chemicals that regulate communication between cells, influencing not only our behavior but also how we move our muscles. We all have imbalances in these chemicals, and those imbalances create the good and bad feelings that drive our everyday behaviors. When a big dose of stress is mixed into the soup, those imbalances become severe and our feelings ramp up, which drives us to overwheming biochemical "wantings" leading to irresistable cravings and urges in order to feel better (a natural survival mechanism). The choices we make in our attempt to rebalance these transmitters can spell the difference betwen health or a catastrophic road to addiction. If we "self-medicate" with exercise and good lifestyle items on our menu, we will survive these inevitable changes with integrity. If, due to certain geneitc and environmental predispositions, we choose addictive substances to neurtralize these bad feelings, the results can be dramatically and dangerously different.
In the case of Ms. Lohan, an admitted bipolar, her Dopamine levels are genetically imbalanced resulting in her having less of this neurotransmitter than others. The interaction of too little Dopamine creates the hyperactive and manic behaviors we see in those suffering from ADHD and bipolar disorders. Her drive to abuse stimulants is therefore identical to the child with ADHD, who actually needs stimulant medications to "calm down" and focus in order to have the control to interact productively with whatever life throws at them. Stimulant medications (like Ritalin) work like Dopamine on the receptors in the brain and reverse the negative effects of too little Dopamine. Hyperactive or manic behaviors are now replaced by calm, focus , and control. Since cocaine (her alleged drug of choice) looks and acts like Dopamine to the receptor, it is a natural (and unfortunately too convenient) choice for someone with this imbalance to get immediate relief from the bad feelings created by the deficient Dopamine levels in her brain. The cocaine however, unlike the prescription medications, proves destructive because it is very short acting, ultimately creates an even greater imbalance in Dopamine levels, has dangerous additives, and must be repetively consumed in order to attempt re-establishing homeostasis in her brain chemistry. These shifts in Dopamine levels created by frequent dosing of the cocaine drives behavior and function into the toilet.
So as scientists sift through Lindsay's poop, looking for those clues to her brain-gut connection and how it relates to her imbalanced brain chemistry, they may come across more than depressed Dopamine levels ... they may also stumble across her depressed career. And in these very clues could lie the answers for her to treat her addiction appropriately - as a chronic medical disease, with targeted pharmacologic and behavioral therapies, and allow her to "get her poop together" in order to resuccitate her wonderful and celebrated career.
Revised 10/31/10.