Brain Science & Society: Thinking about the Future

2,776 views · Published 16 December 2010 · 39:21 · Indexed 9 October 2026

Channel: Harvard University · 2010 · Education

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Harvard University Provost Steven Hyman speaks at the Harvard EdPortal in Allston, MA.

Hyman, the latest speaker in a lecture series designed to open Harvard's academic workings to neighbors in nearby communities, conjured up early humanity in explaining what makes addictive drugs so irresistible. These drugs hook us by mimicking brain chemicals such as dopamine that evolved to keep us alive in an uncertain and primitive world, where a key memory like the location of a productive hunting ground or a water source could mean the difference between life and death.

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