The Biology of Addiction By Dr. Springer University of Nebraska-Lincoln

What is Drug Addiction? NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) defines addiction as: a “chronic relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. It is considered a brain disease because drugs change the brain… Its structure and how it works, forever!

Why do people take drugs? To feel good To feel better To do better Curiosity (Everyone’s doing it)

Peers and School Environmental factor ◦Shy or aggressive classroom behavior ◦Poor school performance ◦Poor social coping skills ◦Affiliation with deviant peers ◦Perceptions of approval of drug-abusing behaviors in environment (school, peers, home)

Addiction and the Brain Addiction is a developmental disease that typically begins in childhood. Prefrontal cortex: affects regulation, emotional control, sound decision-making, higher level thinking. ◦Develops rapidly during adolescence ◦Substances interfere with normal development of this area

Healthy Brain Development

3 Areas affected by drug abuse 1- Brain Stem: Controls functions critical to life. I.e. heart rate, breathing 2- Limbic System: The brain’s reward circuit. It is highly implicated by emotions 3- Cerebral Cortex: Controls specific functions. It enables us to see, feel, hear, and taste. The frontal cortex is the reasoning center of the brain.

Drugs decrease brain function

How do drugs affect the brain? Drugs tap into the brain’s communication system and interfere with the way neurons normally send, receive and process info. All drugs of abuse directly/indirectly target the brain’s reward system by flooding the circuit with Dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that indirectly regulates emotion, cognition, and pleasure.

Drugs and Addiction Our brains are “hard-wired” to appreciate and to pursue natural rewards because of their critical survival value. Drugs activate the same circuits that motivate eating and sexual behavior. Eventually cravings for the drugs can exceed those for food or sex.

Drugs vs. Natural Rewards When drugs are taken, they release 2-10 times the amount of dopamine that natural rewards do! This overwhelms the reward circuit in the brain as well as changes brain function. This results in the brain trying to get back to its natural levels, and thus stops producing and/or receiving dopamine (the crash).

Other changes in the brain Chronic exposure to drugs disrupts the way critical brain structures interact to control behavior. In other words, drug addiction erodes a person’s self-control and ability to make sound decisions.

Diseased Brain & Heart Addiction is similar to other diseases such as heart disease. Both disrupt the normal, healthy functioning of the underlying organ, have serious consequences, are preventable, treatable, and if left untreated, can last a lifetime.

The Three C’s of Addiction Compulsion: Obsession with alcohol and/or drugs Control: Inability to stop using Consequences: Continue to use despite adverse consequences

Meth Abuser Brain Imaging

Proactive Factors Strong/positive family bonds Parental monitoring of children’s activities Clear rules; consistently enforced Success in school Bond with an institution (church) Understanding conventional norms about abuse