Addiction- Post 2 ("The Science of Addiction")

"'Addictions,' says Joseph Frascella, director of the division of clinical neuroscience at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), 'are repetitive behaviors int he face of negative consequences, the desire to continue something that you know is bad for you.'" Everyone has the potential to be an addict. According to this article, due to heredity, some people are more susceptible to becoming addicted to a specific substance such as alcohol. But, no one is immune to becoming addicted. Almost anything enjoyable can turn into an addiction. This is a bit frightening because there are many things that people enjoy and that they do every day. But, once a person is addicted, it's very difficult to turn back. As I've heard before, once an addict always an addict. Even if someone stops drinking or doing their drug of choice or eating compulsively, they are still an addict. This article offers some possibilities for counteracting addictions. For example, doctors have focused on the neurotransmitter dopamine. "The hope is that if you can dampen the effect of the brain chemical that carries the pleasurable signal, you can loosen the drug's hold." Therefore, blocking the D3 interrupts a lot of the drug's affects, according to Fank Vocci. In order to really help an addict recover, it is important to look at the rehabilitation programs available now and their affect on those who attend them. Addictions are so difficult to treat because of the affect their drug usage has had on their brain, and how difficult it is to reverse these changes. "If the damage that lingers in an addict's learning abilities also hangs on in behavioral areas, this could explain why rehabilitation programs that rely on cognitive therapy--teaching new ways to think about the need for a substance and the consequences of using it-- may not always be effective, especailly in the first weeks and months after getting clean. 'Therapy is a learning process,' notes Vocci. 'We are trying to get [addicts] to change cognition and behavior at a time when they are least able to do so.'" Now, evidence is supporting the 90-day rehabilitation model becuase it is just about how long it takes for the brain to reset itself and shake off the immediate influence of a drug. But despite how healthy an addicts brain may look eventually, the author stresses that they will always be in recovery and will never lose their vulnerability to their drug of choice.