Drug Addiction
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Drug Addiction
Introduction
People often misunderstand the concept of drug addiction. They link drugs addiction with the willpower and moral values of the individuals. In reality, drug addiction is a chronic disease that leads to brain changes ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"Y7O8XZ2U","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Justinova, Panlilio, & Goldberg, 2009)","plainCitation":"(Justinova, Panlilio, & Goldberg, 2009)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":961,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/mlRB1JqV/items/XYLXHL6K"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/mlRB1JqV/items/XYLXHL6K"],"itemData":{"id":961,"type":"article-journal","title":"Drug Addiction","container-title":"Current topics in behavioral neurosciences","page":"309-346","volume":"1","source":"PubMed Central","abstract":"Many drugs of abuse, including cannabinoids, opioids, alcohol and nicotine, can alter the levels of endocannabinoids in the brain. Recent studies show that release of endocannabinoids in the ventral tegmental area can modulate the reward-related effects of dopamine and might therefore be an important neurobiological mechanism underlying drug addiction. There is strong evidence that the endocannabinoid system is involved in drug-seeking behavior (especially behavior that is reinforced by drug-related cues), as well as in the mechanisms that underlie relapse to drug use. The cannabinoid CB1 antagonist/inverse agonist rimonabant has been shown to reduce the behavioral effects of stimuli associated with drugs of abuse, including nicotine, alcohol, cocaine, and marijuana. Thus, the endocannabinoid system represents a promising target for development of new treatments for drug addiction.","DOI":"10.1007/978-3-540-88955-7_13","ISSN":"1866-3370","note":"PMID: 21104390\nPMCID: PMC3039293","journalAbbreviation":"Curr Top Behav Neurosci","author":[{"family":"Justinova","given":"Zuzana"},{"family":"Panlilio","given":"Leigh V."},{"family":"Goldberg","given":"Steven R."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2009"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Justinova, Panlilio, & Goldberg, 2009). It requires cohesive treatment because it can be fatal if no proper treatment is made on time. Drug addiction not only affects individuals physically but also impact their psychological health. People with drug addiction find it difficult to carry on a normal and healthy lifestyle. They become unable to focus on their health, education, career, and personal relationship. It is a relapsing disease which means even after quitting the drugs there are chances that individual will start taking drugs after years. The main purpose of the paper is to analyze the issue of drug addiction by understanding its causes, symptoms, and preventions. It is crucial to understand the concept because drugs impact the brain, its structure and functions.
Discussion
Drug addiction is a serious issue that can be started by using the recreational drug for experimental use. People not only get addicted to drugs like tobacco, marijuana, cocaine but also from exposure to prescribed medications. Numbers of people get addicted to pain killers so much that their body stops working without its use on a daily basis. With time doses of drug get increases and individuals find difficult to control. In addition, when an individual suddenly tries to avoid drug, he may feel intense carving which makes him physically and mentally sick ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"Hl1kcl3G","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Koob & Moal, 2001)","plainCitation":"(Koob & Moal, 2001)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":964,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/mlRB1JqV/items/2XT573H6"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/mlRB1JqV/items/2XT573H6"],"itemData":{"id":964,"type":"article-journal","title":"Drug Addiction, Dysregulation of Reward, and Allostasis","container-title":"Neuropsychopharmacology","page":"97","volume":"24","issue":"2","source":"www.nature.com","abstract":"This paper reviews recent developments in the neurocircuitry and neurobiology of addiction from a perspective of allostasis. A model is proposed for brain changes that occur during the development of addiction that explain the persistent vulnerability to relapse long after drug-taking has ceased. Addiction is presented as a cycle of spiralling dysregulation of brain reward systems that progressively increases, resulting in the compulsive use and loss of control over drug-taking. The development of addiction recruits different sources of reinforcement, different neuroadaptive mechanisms, and different neurochemical changes to dysregulate the brain reward system. Counteradaptive processes such as opponent-process that are part of normal homeostatic limitation of reward function fail to return within the normal homeostatic range and are hypothesized to form an allostatic state. Allostasis from the addiction perspective is defined as the process of maintaining apparent reward function stability by changes in brain reward mechanisms. The allostatic state represents a chronic deviation of reward set point and is fueled not only by dysregulation of reward circuits per se, but also by the activation of brain and hormonal stress responses. The manifestation of this allostatic state as compulsive drug-taking and loss of control over drug-taking is hypothesized to be expressed through activation of brain circuits involved in compulsive behavior such as the cortico-striatal-thalamic loop. The view that addiction is the pathology that results from an allostatic mechanism using the circuits established for natural rewards provides a realistic approach to identifying the neurobiological factors that produce vulnerability to addiction and relapse.","DOI":"10.1016/S0893-133X(00)00195-0","ISSN":"1740-634X","language":"En","author":[{"family":"Koob","given":"George F."},{"family":"Moal","given":"Michel Le"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2001",2]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Koob & Moal, 2001).
It is important to know the symptoms of drug addiction in order to get rid of it. The drugs which become addiction include; Heroin, marijuana, bath salts, tobacco, mushrooms, cocaine, alcohol, opioid painkillers, mood stabilizers, sleeping pills, and anti-depression. The symptoms of drug addictions include the feeling to use the drug within a particular time period, increase in the amount of drug used, buying drug even when individuals are unable to afford and failing to stop its use ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"xJfdTGQt","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Bachi, Sierra, Volkow, Goldstein, & Alia-Klein, 2017)","plainCitation":"(Bachi, Sierra, Volkow, Goldstein, & Alia-Klein, 2017)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":966,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/mlRB1JqV/items/SRQF24MX"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/mlRB1JqV/items/SRQF24MX"],"itemData":{"id":966,"type":"article-journal","title":"Is biological aging accelerated in drug addiction?","container-title":"Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences","collection-title":"Addiction","page":"34-39","volume":"13","source":"ScienceDirect","abstract":"Drug-addiction may trigger early onset of age-related disease, due to drug-induced multi-system toxicity and perilous lifestyle, which remains mostly undetected and untreated. We present the literature on pathophysiological processes that may hasten aging and its relevance to addiction, including: oxidative stress and cellular aging, inflammation in periphery and brain, decline in brain volume and function, and early onset of cardiac, cerebrovascular, kidney, and liver disease. Timely detection of accelerated aging in addiction is crucial for the prevention of premature morbidity and mortality.","DOI":"10.1016/j.cobeha.2016.09.007","ISSN":"2352-1546","journalAbbreviation":"Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences","author":[{"family":"Bachi","given":"Keren"},{"family":"Sierra","given":"Salvador"},{"family":"Volkow","given":"Nora D"},{"family":"Goldstein","given":"Rita Z"},{"family":"Alia-Klein","given":"Nelly"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2017",2,1]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Bachi, Sierra, Volkow, Goldstein, & Alia-Klein, 2017). Drug addiction disturbs reward circuit of the brain. Reward system motivates individuals to carry on his daily routine and spending times with relatives and loved ones. However, drugs cause euphoria and spread it with chemical messenger dopamine. Therefore, drug addiction results in the least interest in eating and communication with others. In the long-run drug addiction impact different functions of the brain like learning, decision-making, memory, judgment, behavior and stress.
There are three main factors that lead to drug addiction including biology, environment, and development of the individuals. Biology includes the genes, ethnicity and gender of the person. Environment factor includes the influence of family members and friends, peer pressure, lifestyle, economic status, stress, sexual or physical abuse and general quality of life. Both biology and environment factors impact the developmental stages of the individuals which shape the addiction pattern for them. To prevent drug addiction, it is important to consult with the doctor. Medication and behavioral therapy are helpful to prevent the problem. In addition, the integrated treatment that is the combination of physical, mental and spiritual therapy are used to prevent drug addiction ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"PuDCKAXc","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Health (US) & Study, 2007)","plainCitation":"(Health (US) & Study, 2007)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":962,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/mlRB1JqV/items/L6LCFFWJ"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/mlRB1JqV/items/L6LCFFWJ"],"itemData":{"id":962,"type":"book","title":"The Essence of Drug Addiction","publisher":"National Institutes of Health (US)","source":"www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov","abstract":"(NAPS)-The word \"addiction\" calls up many different images and strong emotions. But what are we reacting to? Too often we focus on the wrong aspects of addiction so our efforts to deal with this difficult issue can be badly misguided.","URL":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK20368/","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Health (US)","given":"National Institutes","dropping-particle":"of"},{"family":"Study","given":"Biological Sciences Curriculum"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2007"]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",7,23]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Health (US) & Study, 2007).
Conclusion
Drug addiction is a chronic disease. Individuals do not agree with the fact that they are addicted to some sort of drugs. Therefore, it is important for their loved ones to identify the problem and help them through proper treatment and medication. This is important because drugs affect the brain structure and its functions which result in lack of interest in daily life tasks, learning and making a healthy relationship. Drug addiction also unable person to cope with the stress, making the efficient decisions and concentration on future goals.
References
ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Bachi, K., Sierra, S., Volkow, N. D., Goldstein, R. Z., & Alia-Klein, N. (2017). Is biological aging accelerated in drug addiction? Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 13, 34–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2016.09.007
Health (US), N. I. of, & Study, B. S. C. (2007). The Essence of Drug Addiction. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK20368/
Justinova, Z., Panlilio, L. V., & Goldberg, S. R. (2009). Drug Addiction. Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences, 1, 309–346. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-88955-7_13
Koob, G. F., & Moal, M. L. (2001). Drug Addiction, Dysregulation of Reward, and Allostasis. Neuropsychopharmacology, 24(2), 97. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0893-133X(00)00195-0
