Addiction

• Describe addiction

  The compulsion to use a substance or engage in a behaviour that is pleasurable despite its harmful consequences

  Addiction is marked by physical and or psychological dependence tolerance and withdrawal
• Physical dependence

  • People who ar physically dependant on substance to feel normal as brain and body adapted in its presence
  • Demonstrated by physical with drawal affects such as headaches and shaking if they stop drug
• Psychological dependence

  • Can't cope with work or social life with out particular drug e.g nicotine
  • No drug causes psychological withdrawal effects such as anxiety irritability and cravings
• This is a collection of symptoms that develop when the addicted person abstains orizeduces their drug use For example, the effects of withdrawal for nicotine include irritability, anxiety, Increased appetite and weight gain Withdrawal symptoms occur as the body and brain is attempting to deal with the absence of a drug's effects
• Tolerance

  • Individuals response to drug is reduced need greater dose to produce same affect on behaviour
  • Tolerance arises when person takes drug for some time because body gets rid of drug so it disappears quikly
• Tolerance example

  • Increases level of enzymes in the body breakdown alcohol were shown in one study of prisoners who were administered the same amount of alcahol everyday for 13 weeks
• Genetic vulnerability to addiction

  • How body responds to drug ; faster metabolism more at risk as don't experience immediate unpleasant effects as they break it down quickly
  • Decrease dopamine stronger feeling of pleasure
  • Low d2 receptors increase Impulsive drug use as these regulated self control
• Stress as addiction risk

  • Cumulative effect of stress effects vulnerability. More stress events higher alcahol dependence
  • Substance provide temporary relief from effects of stress, alcahol slows ns
  • Child experience of stress more vulneravle damage brain in sensitive period later stress may onset addiction
• Personality for addiction

  • High neuroticism ( lots of anxiety) help relax
  • Low extroversion use substance to increase confidence
  • High psychoticism ( impulsively and agression) lots of gambling with out thinking of consequences
• Family for addiction

  • Gambling transmitted in family's identification little brother makes vet
  • Perceived parental approval believe parents have good attitude to drinking since no deterrent
  • Lack of parental influence means more vulnerbale to peers
• Peer addiction

  • Friends take substances nsi
  • Vicarous reinforcement friends rewarded they want to try to
  • Social norms tend to overestimate how much peers drink
• Role of dopamine onset for nicotine addiction onset


  Nicotine binds to nicotine acetylcholine receptors in the ventral regimental area triggering release of dopamine in nucleus accumbend to prefrontal cortex

  The dopamine creates feelings of euphoria resulting in nicotine becoming addictive
• Dopamine in nicotine addiction tolerance


  Nicotine receptors are continually activated through repeated smoking, lead to decrease in no. of active receptors decreasing dopamine release contributing to toelrance
• Brain neurochemsitry 6ao1

  1. Chemical and neural processes associated with nicotine
  2. Nicotine acetylcholine receptors
  3. Reward pathway= euphoria
  4. Maintentance- smokers go with out nicotine the receptors are more sensitive
  5. Smokes tk avoid withdrawal
  6. Tolerance- repeated smoking leads to decrease in active receptors meaning decrease dopamine release