Preview

Brain Disorders: A Pathological Study

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
428 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Brain Disorders: A Pathological Study
Pathologically, addiction is characterized by the pursuit of reward or relief substances in a compulsive, uncontrolled, and debilitating fashion. This behavior occurs as a result of alterations in the mesolimbic pathway of the brain, implicated in reward, motivation, and memory. More specifically, the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and nucleus accumbens are two regions that directly mediate addiction. The VTA, activated by addictive substances, is the site of dopaminergic neurons that project onto the nucleus accumbens in the ventral striatum (Adinoff, 2004). Therefore, studies on addiction usually center around these regions to explore the genetic and neurobiological basis underlying this chronic brain disease. One of the most prominent and …show more content…
The conditioned place preference (CPP) is a behavioral paradigm in which rodents are repeatedly injected with a drug, in this case cocaine, in a unique chamber. The rodent is then placed in a room connecting the drug-associated chamber to a neutral chamber. Drug addiction is indexed by shorter latency to enter the drug- associated chamber, or lengthened time spent inside of it. In order to ensure that these effects are not specific to the chamber as opposed to the drug itself, the chamber assigned to be the drug-associated one is alternated over many trials (Itzhak & Martin, 2002). However, the major limitation to this paradigm is that it is not a direct measure of addiction, since the drug was administered by the experimenter so whether the rodent wanted it or not is uncertain. In order to circumvent this weakness, paradigms in which the rodent administers the drug itself were developed. These self- administration methods involve either brain or systemic cannulation, where substance infusion occurs every time the rodent pushes on a lever. The advantage to this method is that the injections can be specific and localized, allowing the discernment of brain regions involved in addiction (Panlilio & Goldberg, 2007). Lastly, another popular method used to study addiction and the transition into it is by observing hyperactivity and running patterns using tracking systems. This method is particularly relevant to psychostimulants such as cocaine (Catlow & Kirstein,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    For many years, individuals have battled substance abuse and addiction. My position comes from hearing about it, having seeing results from it, and reading about it, also developing my own thoughts about addiction. Weil and Rosen (1993) believe that a drug use (and addiction) results from humans longing for a sense of completeness and wholeness, and searching for satisfaction outside of themselves. McNeece and DiNitto (2012) says the reason why people continue to use drugs to the point of becoming a physically and/ or psychologically dependent on them are more complex, some have tried to explain this phenomenon as a deficit in moral values, a disease, conditioning or learned behavior, or as a genetic prosperity. Still some see it as a “rewiring” of the brain (Mc Neece & DiNitto, 2012). At this point, there is no one single theory that adequately explains addiction (McNeece & DiNitto, 2012).…

    • 1074 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Annotated Bibliography

    • 1753 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Nader, M.A., Banks,M.L., 2014. Environmental modulation of drug taking : Nonhuman primate models of cocaine abuse and PET neuroimaging. Neuropharmacology, [e-journal] 76(8). Available through: THOL1Search website < http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.sunway.edu.my/eds/detail?sid=ee584d41-71e5-4321-afb3-3fe3f58ec8dc%40sessionmgr4003&vid=1&hid=4113&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.349137284> [Accessed 5 April…

    • 1753 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Better Essays

    Volkow M.D., Nora D. “Drugs, Brain, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction.” National Institue on Drug Addiction. August 2010. Web. 29 September 2012.…

    • 1063 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Neuroscience and psychology seem to have been working together to try to understand how and why certain behaviors transpire in a person’s personality, and what makes or motivates a person to do the things they do. One of the most analyzed wonders that mark motivation, the thought developments, and the social interaction, is the analysis of drug obsession. Through advance forms of scanning the brain with imaging equipment like positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have advanced the knowledge of drug addiction and how the brain is affected (Volkow, Fowler, & Wang, 2003,para 2). This paper will examine the brain structures and functions, the influence of extrinsic and intrinsic factors to abstain from drug use and the heredity and environmental factors on the motivation used to refrain from drug use.…

    • 1098 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Through certain testing, scientists have discovered that specific, noninvasive brain stimulation can aid in the suppressing of drug cravings in addicts. The inference was made that if we can stimulate a portion of the brain that controls decision making in the average human, we can aid in the suppression of cravings. This portion of the brain is called the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (Fecteau, 2010). It is located in the frontal cortex of the brain which controls other things such as mannerisms, social and sexual behavior, as well as decision making.…

    • 361 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    A dopamine pathway is the mesolimbic pathway, which releases dopamine into the limbic part of the brain. People who are prone to addiction naturally have a more sensitive mesolimbic pathway.…

    • 710 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Addiction Paradox

    • 1090 Words
    • 5 Pages

    "Neurobiology Of Addiction Versus Drug Use Driven By Lack Of Choice." Current Opinion In Neurobiology 23.4 (2013): 581-587. EBSCO MegaFILE. Web. 7 Apr. 2014…

    • 1090 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Butelman, B., Leveron, O., Kreek, M., Schulessman, S., Yan, Y., (Oct., 2012). Opiate Addiction and Cocaine Addiction: Underlying Molecular Neurobiology and Genetics. The Journal of Clinical Investigation, 122(10), 3387-3389…

    • 1082 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Nida Model Of Addiction

    • 1420 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Over 30 years of intensive research has taught us, and NIDA supports, that addiction is a disease of the brain. The NIDA defines drug addiction as "a brain disease characterized by compulsive, at many times uncontrollable, drug craving, seeking, and use that persists despite potentially devastating consequences. Due to controversy over the real definition of this disease, the official medical definition is shorter but shares the same defining factors the disease model proposes. According to…

    • 1420 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Schepis TS, Adinoff B, & Rao U (2008). Neurobiological processes in adolescent addictive disorders. The American Journal on Addictions; 17:6–23. [PubMed: 18214718]…

    • 4036 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Drug addiction is considered a progressive disease that if left untreated can result in death. When we become addicted we have lost control of the desire and need for the substance. This loss of control causes us to become consumed by the desire and the need for the substance. Addiction produces changes in the brain that cause our behavior to change. This change in behavior is what leads to the loss of control. “This is not something that develops overnight for any individual. Generally there is a series of steps that individuals go through from experimentation and occasional use to the actual loss of control.” (HBO). The progression of this disease has no specific time frame. It differs from person to person. Regardless of time, addiction follows the same path. We become addicted, our disease progresses, and either we get help and recover or we take one of the following options: jail, institution, or death.…

    • 2072 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Neuron Disorders

    • 537 Words
    • 3 Pages

    While neuron disorders are debilitating diseases, scientists are researching promising new cures. This research ranges from the crosstalk between motor and sensory neurons, to the morphing of skin cells, and the function of the CLP1 gene and its role in certain diseases.…

    • 537 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    on the brain is a biological addiction in which there are changes to the central nervous system…

    • 1236 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    INTRO: Did you know that in the last generation scientists come to understand the ways of an addicted brain? “There are nearly 2 million heroin and cocaine addicts, perhaps 15 million alcoholics, and 10’s of millions of cigarette smokers in the United States alone.” (Harvard Mental Health Letter, July 2004) Children of addicted parents are the highest risk group of children to become alcohol and drug abusers due to both genetic and family environment factors (Kumpfer, 1999).…

    • 1056 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Drug and alcohol addiction is a very serious and widespread problem in America, and across the globe. Drug addiction is a constant craving, seeking, and using of a substance, despite the negative consequences it may have on the addict or those around them. When drug use becomes more frequent, it is considered drug abuse. Once an individual’s drug abuse is can no longer be controlled, and they are using the drug to get through everyday life, it beomes an addiction. A person on drugs has an altered way of thinking, behaving, and perceiving. There are treatment facilities all over the world dedicated to help those suffering with drug addictions. All though there are drugs to help reduce cravings and discourage drug use, there is no drug that can stop a drug addiction. Many times the facilities are not accessible to addicts, and even those who are able to receive treatment have a high risk of relapsing, or continuing drug use after being clean from the drug. Because of the history of drug addiction and abuse in my own family, my interest was sparked at and early age. When seeing an addict or hearing about them on television I used to ask myself “why can’t they just stop” . After learning the anatomy of an addiction, and how it changes the chemistry of the brain I realized it’s more than a matter of willpower or wanting to quit. It’s not a matter of being clean for an addict, it’s a matter of survival. As a person with a passion for addicts and a future of helping them on their steps to recovery, it is hurtful to know that many people think drug addiction is just a choice the addict made. Although it may be a result of the choices they made, once they are addicted is it much more complicated than that. In my research, I wanted to find evidence that supports the argument that drug addiction is a disease, as opposed to what many believe, a decision. To support this idea, I have…

    • 2112 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays