Are We to Blame for What We Risk?

Walk in and put it all on red,

You’ll win it all or loose your head;

Your fate rests with that spinning disk,

Are we to blame for what we risk?

 

By playing gambling games with rats,

Researchers found their habitats

Were more than just an asterisk;

Are we to blame for what we risk?

 

And NOISY sounds and FlAsHiNg lights

Cause rats to attempt dizzy heights;

Where they should pause, they are too brisk,

Are we to blame for what we risk?

 

Then dopamine D3 was found

To affect those tempted by sound;

Is this the gambling obelisk?

Are we to blame for what we risk?

 

And those that profit from our flaws

Know we’ll come back for more because:

Why have the gruel when there is bisque?

Are we to blame for what we risk?

This is a Kyrielle, based on this recent piece of research, which found that rats that are exposed to flashing lights and noisy sounds are far more likely to make risky decisions in gambling tasks. The researchers also found that the dopamine D3 compound had a significant effect on the rats, but only those that had been exposed to flashing lights and/or noisy sounds.

An audio version of this poem can be heard here.