The Science of Addiction: From Neurobiology to Treatment

by Carlton K. Erickson
The Science of Addiction: From Neurobiology to Treatment
Author: Carlton K. Erickson
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 302
Release: 2007-02-17
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0393076229
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Runner-up winner of the Hamilton Book Author Award, this book is a comprehensive overview of the neurobiology behind addictions. Neuroscience is clarifying the causes of compulsive alcohol and drug use––while also shedding light on what addiction is, what it is not, and how it can best be treated––in exciting and innovative ways. Current neurobiological research complements and enhances the approaches to addiction traditionally taken in social work and psychology. However, this important research is generally not presented in a forthright, jargon-free way that clearly illustrates its relevance to addiction professionals. The Science of Addiction presents a comprehensive overview of the roles that brain function and genetics play in addiction. It explains in an easy-to-understand way changes in the terminology and characterization of addiction that are emerging based upon new neurobiological research. The author goes on to describe the neuroanatomy and function of brain reward sites, and the genetics of alcohol and other drug dependence. Chapters on the basic pharmacology of stimulants and depressants, alcohol, and other drugs illustrate the specific and unique ways in which the brain and the central nervous system interact with, and are affected by, each of these substances Erickson discusses current and emerging treatments for chemical dependence, and how neuroscience helps us understand the way they work. The intent is to encourage an understanding of the body-mind connection. The busy clinical practitioner will find the chapter on how to read and interpret new research findings on the neurobiological basis of addiction useful and illuminating. This book will help the almost 21.6 million Americans, and millions more worldwide, who abuse or are dependent on drugs by teaching their caregivers (or them) about the latest addiction science research. It is also intended to help addiction professionals understand the foundations and applications of neuroscience, so that they will be able to better empathize with their patients and apply the science to principles of treatment.

Neurobiology of Addiction

by George F. Koob
Neurobiology of Addiction
Author: George F. Koob
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2025-01-01
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0123849756
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Neurobiology of Addiction is conceived as a current survey and synthesis of the most important findings in our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms of addiction over the past 50 years. The book includes a scholarly introduction, thorough descriptions of animal models of addiction, and separate chapters on the neurobiological mechanisms of addiction for psychostimulants, opioids, alcohol, nicotine and cannabinoids. Key information is provided about the history, sources, and pharmacokinetics and psychopathology of addiction of each drug class, as well as the behavioral and neurobiological mechanism of action for each drug class at the molecular, cellular and neurocircuitry level of analysis. A chapter on neuroimaging and drug addiction provides a synthesis of exciting new data from neuroimaging in human addicts a unique perspective unavailable from animal studies. The final chapters explore theories of addiction at the neurobiological and neuroadaptational level both from a historical and integrative perspective. The book incorporates diverse finding with an emphasis on integration and synthesis rather than discrepancies or differences in the literature. - Presents a unique perspective on addiction that emphasizes molecular, cellular and neurocircuitry changes in the transition to addiction - Synthesizes diverse findings on the neurobiology of addiction to provide a heuristic framework for future work - Features extensive documentation through numerous original figures and tables that that will be useful for understanding and teaching

Never Enough

by Judith Grisel
Never Enough
Author: Judith Grisel
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 223
Release: 2019-02-19
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0385542852
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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From a renowned behavioral neuroscientist and recovering addict, a rare page-turning work of science that draws on personal insights to reveal how drugs work, the dangerous hold they can take on the brain, and the surprising way to combat today's epidemic of addiction. Judith Grisel was a daily drug user and college dropout when she began to consider that her addiction might have a cure, one that she herself could perhaps discover by studying the brain. Now, after twenty-five years as a neuroscientist, she shares what she and other scientists have learned about addiction, enriched by captivating glimpses of her personal journey. In Never Enough, Grisel reveals the unfortunate bottom line of all regular drug use: there is no such thing as a free lunch. All drugs act on the brain in a way that diminishes their enjoyable effects and creates unpleasant ones with repeated use. Yet they have their appeal, and Grisel draws on anecdotes both comic and tragic from her own days of using as she limns the science behind the love of various drugs, from marijuana to alcohol, opiates to psychedelics, speed to spice. With more than one in five people over the age of fourteen addicted, drug abuse has been called the most formidable health problem worldwide, and Grisel delves with compassion into the science of this scourge. She points to what is different about the brains of addicts even before they first pick up a drink or drug, highlights the changes that take place in the brain and behavior as a result of chronic using, and shares the surprising hidden gifts of personality that addiction can expose. She describes what drove her to addiction, what helped her recover, and her belief that a “cure” for addiction will not be found in our individual brains but in the way we interact with our communities. Set apart by its color, candor, and bell-clear writing, Never Enough is a revelatory look at the roles drugs play in all of our lives and offers crucial new insight into how we can solve the epidemic of abuse.

Drugs, Addiction, and the Brain

by George F. Koob
Drugs, Addiction, and the Brain
Author: George F. Koob
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 351
Release: 2014-07-12
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0123869595
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Drugs, Addiction, and the Brain explores the molecular, cellular, and neurocircuitry systems in the brain that are responsible for drug addiction. Common neurobiological elements are emphasized that provide novel insights into how the brain mediates the acute rewarding effects of drugs of abuse and how it changes during the transition from initial drug use to compulsive drug use and addiction. The book provides a detailed overview of the pathophysiology of the disease. The information provided will be useful for neuroscientists in the field of addiction, drug abuse treatment providers, and undergraduate and postgraduate students who are interested in learning the diverse effects of drugs of abuse on the brain. - Full-color circuitry diagrams of brain regions implicated in each stage of the addiction cycle - Actual data figures from original sources illustrating key concepts and findings - Introduction to basic neuropharmacology terms and concepts - Introduction to numerous animal models used to study diverse aspects of drug use. - Thorough review of extant work on the neurobiology of addiction

Addiction Neuroethics

by Adrian Carter
Addiction Neuroethics
Author: Adrian Carter
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 347
Release: 2011-10-04
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0123859743
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Research increasingly suggests that addiction has a genetic and neurobiological basis, but efforts to translate research into effective clinical treatments and social policy needs to be informed by careful ethical analyses of the personal and social implications. Scientists and policy makers alike must consider possible unintended negative consequences of neuroscience research so that the promise of reducing the burden and incidence of addiction can be fully realized and new advances translated into clinically meaningful and effective treatments. This volume brings together leading addiction researchers and practitioners with neuroethicists and social scientists to specifically discuss the ethical, philosophical, legal and social implications of neuroscience research of addiction, as well as its translation into effective, economical and appropriate policy and treatments. Chapters explore the history of ideas about addiction, the neuroscience of drug use and addiction, prevention and treatment of addiction, the moral implications of addiction neuroscience, legal issues and human rights, research ethics, and public policy. - Features outstanding and truly international scholarship, with chapters written by leading experts in neuroscience, addiction medicine, psychology and more - Informs psychologists of related research in neuroscience and vice versa, giving researchers easy one-stop access to knowledge outside their area of specialty

Memoirs of an Addicted Brain

by Marc Lewis
Memoirs of an Addicted Brain
Author: Marc Lewis
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2011-10-04
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0385669267
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A gripping, ultimately triumphant memoir that's also the most comprehensive and comprehensible study of the neuroscience of addiction written for the general public. FROM THE INTRODUCTION: "We are prone to a cycle of craving what we don't have, finding it, using it up or losing it, and then craving it all the more. This cycle is at the root of all addictions, addictions to drugs, sex, love, cigarettes, soap operas, wealth, and wisdom itself. But why should this be so? Why are we desperate for what we don't have, or can't have, often at great cost to what we do have, thereby risking our peace and contentment, our safety, and even our lives?" The answer, says Dr. Marc Lewis, lies in the structure and function of the human brain. Marc Lewis is a distinguished neuroscientist. And, for many years, he was a drug addict himself, dependent on a series of dangerous substances, from LSD to heroin. His narrative moves back and forth between the often dark, compellingly recounted story of his relationship with drugs and a revelatory analysis of what was going on in his brain. He shows how drugs speak to the brain - which is designed to seek rewards and soothe pain - in its own language. He shows in detail the neural mechanics of a variety of powerful drugs and of the onset of addiction, itself a distortion of normal perception. Dr. Lewis freed himself from addiction and ended up studying it. At the age of 30 he traded in his pharmaceutical supplies for the life of a graduate student, eventually becoming a professor of developmental psychology, and then of neuroscience - his field for the last 12 years. This is the story of his journey, seen from the inside out.

The Neuroscience of Cocaine

by Victor R Preedy
The Neuroscience of Cocaine
Author: Victor R Preedy
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 776
Release: 2017-05-23
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 012803792X
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The Neuroscience of Cocaine: Mechanisms and Treatment explores the complex effects of this drug, addressing the neurobiology behind cocaine use and the psychosocial and behavioral factors that impact cocaine use and abuse. This book provides researchers with an up-to-date understanding of the mechanisms behind cocaine use, and aids them in deriving new pharmacological compounds and therapeutic regimens to treat dependency and withdrawal symptoms. Cocaine is one of the most highly abused illicit drugs worldwide and is frequently associated with other forms of drug addiction and misuse, but researchers are still struggling to understand cocaine's neuropharmacological profile and the mechanisms of its effects and manifestations at the cognitive level. Cessation of cocaine use can lead to numerous adverse withdrawal conditions, from the cellular and molecular level to the behavioral level of the individual user. Written by worldwide experts in cocaine addiction, this book assists neuroscientists and other addiction researchers in unraveling the many complex facets of cocaine use and abuse. - Contains in each chapter an abstract, key facts, mini dictionary of terms, and summary points to aid in understanding - Illustrated in full color - Provides unique full coverage of all aspects of cocaine and its related pathology - Provides researchers with an up-to-date understanding of the mechanisms behind cocaine use, and aids them in deriving new pharmacological compounds and therapeutic regimens to treat dependency and withdrawal symptoms

The Biology of Desire

by Marc Lewis
The Biology of Desire
Author: Marc Lewis
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Total Pages: 175
Release: 2015-07-14
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1610394380
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Through the vivid, true stories of five people who journeyed into and out of addiction, a renowned neuroscientist explains why the "disease model" of addiction is wrong and illuminates the path to recovery. The psychiatric establishment and rehab industry in the Western world have branded addiction a brain disease. But in The Biology of Desire, cognitive neuroscientist and former addict Marc Lewis makes a convincing case that addiction is not a disease, and shows why the disease model has become an obstacle to healing. Lewis reveals addiction as an unintended consequence of the brain doing what it's supposed to do-seek pleasure and relief-in a world that's not cooperating. As a result, most treatment based on the disease model fails. Lewis shows how treatment can be retooled to achieve lasting recovery. This is enlightening and optimistic reading for anyone who has wrestled with addiction either personally or professionally.