A neural substrate of prediction and reward
Wolfram Schultz, Peter Dayan, P. Read Montague. 1997.
Classic dopamine reward-prediction work used here only to support cautious language about reward learning and anticipation.
Sources and Limitations
Educational, behavioral, and deliberately limited.
Dopamine War is an educational behavioral-design resource. The audit is reflective, not diagnostic. The site does not diagnose addiction, ADHD, depression, anxiety, or any other condition.
Methodology
The manual combines conservative neuroscience language, habit and reinforcement concepts, behavior-design analysis, and practical self-management protocols. Evidence is separated from practical interpretation. The site avoids claims of exact recovery timelines, universal effects, or permanent brain damage from ordinary technology use.
Persistent difficulty functioning may have causes beyond digital habits. Reducing digital stimulation is not a substitute for medical care. If repeated technology use is causing significant impairment, distress, safety risk, sleep loss, financial harm, or relationship damage, consider qualified professional support.
Dopamine neurons and their role in reward mechanisms
Wolfram Schultz. 1997.
Review evidence on dopamine neurons and reward-related learning; not used to claim exact recovery timelines.
Internet Gaming Disorder in the DSM-5
Nancy M. Petry, Florian Rehbein, Chih-Hung Ko, Charles P. O'Brien. 2015.
Context for diagnostic caution and the distinction between educational self-audit and clinical assessment.
Gaming disorder
World Health Organization. ICD-11 Q&A.
Used for cautious language that clinical diagnosis requires impairment and professional judgment.
Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do
B. J. Fogg. 2003.
Foundational book on computers as persuasive systems and behavior-shaping interfaces.
Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products
Nir Eyal. 2014.
Industry-facing habit-formation model, included as design context rather than medical evidence.
Persuasive Technology
Center for Humane Technology. Educational resource.
Accessible explanation of persuasive design patterns; used as practical design context.