Cocaine and the Brain: The Neurobiology of Addiction Essay -- Biology

Cocaine and the Brain The Neurobiology of addiction In the eyes of the public, the word addict stirs up a banish image a person of low moral character who willfully chooses to engage in questionable behavior. This image is perpetuated in the media on a recent episode of E.R., the chief surgeon criticizes another doctor for allowing a heroin addict (who has been treated for an abscess) to exchange a dirty needle, explaining we siret want these low-lives hanging around the hospital. The societal stigma link to addicts reflects the great gap that exists between scientific knowledge and public detection of addiction. Just as mental illness was viewed as a social problem instead of a medical issue until the last some(prenominal) decades, drug addiction continues to be seen as a character mistake instead of as the biological problem that it is.As defined by the American Psychiatric Association, addiction is a chronically relapsing overturn that is characterized by three major ele ments (a) compulsion to seek and take the drug, (b) tone ending of control in limiting intake, and (c) emergence of a negative horny state when access to the drug is prevented (1). This disorder results from the repeated use of a drug over a prolonged period of time, causing sensual changes in the brain.Perhaps the most addictive of drugs is cocaine. Cocaine acts on the mesoaccumbens dopamine (DA) pathway of the midbrain, extending from the ventral tegumental area (VTA) to the nucleus accumbens (NAc). (2). This pathway is also cognise as the reward pathway as it is the area of the brain that is spark off when someone has a pleasurable experience such as eating, sex, or receiving praise. (NOTE The reward pathway was discovered through the technique of... ...se%2fform%2facademic%2fs_genjourn_more.html%25a3AD_FORM%25a4s_genjourn%25a3T1%25a4cocaine%20addiction%25a3S1%25a4Title%25a3S2%25a4AND%25a3T2%25a4Morris%2c%20Kelly%25a3S3%25a4author%25a3S4%25a4AND%25a3T3%25a4%25a3S5%25a4Title %25a3date%25a4AFT%25a3after%25a45%3aYR%25a3frm_rng%25a4%25a3to_rng%25a4%25a3srccat%25a4GENMED%3bALLJNL%25a3source%25a4$srccat%25a3pubtitle%25a4%22The%20Lancet%22%25a3srclf%25a4%25a3srclf_group%25a4%25a3srclf_title%25a4%25a3&wchp=dGLSzS-lSlAl&_md5=9d45ca951ebfccd3b6596b38d0b83ce719) corporate trust Drug Counseling Methods Proves Effective in Treating Cocaine Addiction , cultivation on drug counseling http//www.nida.nih.gov/NIDA_Notes/NNVol14N5/Combining.html20) Coping Skills Help Patients Recognize and balk the Urge to Use Cocaine , Information on therapy for cue-induced relapse http//www.nida.nih.gov/NIDA_Notes/NNVol13N6/Coping.html