How Lab Rats Designed Modern Rehab Centers
Humans have been addicted to various substances since the dawn of time. Alcohol dependency started with the first primeval wines and meads. Later humans learned how to isolate and smoke opium. Finally, myriad illegal and dangerous substances exploded onto the scene as drug culture reached its zenith in 1960s San Francisco. Governments and rehab centers alike have historically struggled to find a way to prevent addiction.
For millennia, the answer to addiction was thought to simply lie in removing the substances that caused it. When the United States began to worry about the societal cost of alcoholism, the government banned all alcohol. The only problem was that it never worked. Despite harsh punishments for those who broke the law, addicts continued to get their fixes regardless.
The vicious cycle might have continued forever were it not for an innovative young Canadian doctor. Bruce Alexander was unconvinced by the research being performed by drug rehab centers and scientists at the time. He believed that addiction was as much a result of societal problems as inherently addictive substances. To prove it, he decided to perform his own experiment.
Researchers at the time would establish a lab in a large town like San Francisco and then acquire a number of lab rats. The rats were kept in tiny, miserable cages and given the option to self-medicate with powerful drugs whenever they wanted. Unsurprisingly, the rats would inject themselves to death in a short amount of time. Scientists concluded that cocaine and heroin were so addictive that anyone who tried them would be doomed to a lifetime of dependence.
Alexander scrapped the tiny cages and instead built “Rat Park,” a miniature complex that offered everything a rat could ever wish for. He then offered the rats as much heroin as they wanted. They took hardly any. With a strong social network and several engaging activities, the rats were significantly less likely to abuse drugs — even when they were readily available.
Modern drug rehab centers in places like San Francisco base many of their treatment strategies on the groundbreaking work performed by Dr. Alexander. Knowing that a healthy social and emotional life is key to a lasting recovery, rehab centers create clean, wholesome environments where recovering addicts can associate with others and find meaningful engagement.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that modern rehab centers in San Francisco and elsewhere are “human parks” — places where recovering addicts can address the underlying causes of their addictions. None of this would have been possible without a group of rodents.
Tanner Wadsworth is a health writer for Fusion 360, an SEO and content marketing agency. Information provided by Miramar Drug and Alcohol Rehab Centers. Follow on Twitter.
