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Addiction Psychology

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Addiction Psychology
ADDICTION

REVISION
Biological Models of Addiction
MODEL ONE: GENETICS
McGue (1999) found that genes contribute to the development of alcohol dependence, with heritability estimates from 50-60% for both men and women.
Noble et al (1991) found that the A1 variant of the DRD2 (Dopamine Receptor) was present in more than 2/3 of deceased alcoholics. Those with the A1 variant appear to have fewer dopamine receptors; they then turn to drugs and alcohol to increase their dopamine levels – compensating for the deficiency.

|Evaluation of Genetics |
|Strengths |Limitations |
|Explains why some individuals are more resistant to treatment and more likely|Caine et al (2007) found that mice engineered to lack the brain receptor (D1), |
|to relapse. |did not develop a taste for cocaine when it was presented to them. Other |
|Synoptic; Psychology is a science. |‘normal’ mice did however continue to take the drug. |
| |Synoptic; Deterministic, Reductionist, Ethics of using animals in research |
| |(above), and Ethics of using deceased individuals. |

MODEL TWO: THE ROLE OF DOPAMINE (THE DISEASE MODEL)
Initiation – Rewarding experiences (e.g. drug taking) trigger the release of dopamine, telling the brain to do it again.
Maintenance – Chronic exposure to alcohol/drugs result in a reduction in the activity of these positive reward circuits (down regulation), this causes withdrawal symptoms
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