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 egg stirs up a negative design a person of utter 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 sawbones criticizes another doctor for allowing a heroin addict (who has been treated for an abscess) to deputize a dirty needle, explaining we dont want these low-lives hanging round the hospital. The social stigma attached to addicts reflects the great gap that exists between scientific knowledge and public perception of addiction. Just as mental disorder was viewed as a social occupation instead of a aesculapian issue until the last several decades, drug addiction continues to be seen as a character flaw instead of as the biological problem that it is.As defined by the American Psychiatric Association, addiction is a chronically relapsing disorder that is characterized by three major elemen ts (a) necessity to seek and take the drug, (b) loss of control in limiting intake, and (c) increment of a negative emotional state when access to the drug is prevented (1). This disorder results from the repeated use of a drug over a extend period of time, causing physical changes in the brain.Perhaps the most habit-forming of drugs is cocaine. Cocaine acts on the mesoaccumbens dopamine (DA) pathway of the midbrain, extending from the ventral tegumental area (VTA) to the heart accumbens (NAc). (2). This pathway is also known as the reward pathway as it is the area of the brain that is activated when someone has a pleasurable have sex such as eating, sex, or receiving praise. (NOTE The reward pathway was discovered by 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%25a4A FT%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) Combining Drug Counseling Methods Proves Effective in Treating Cocaine Addiction , info on drug counseling http//www.nida.nih.gov/NIDA_Notes/NNVol14N5/Combining.html20) manage Skills Help Patients Recognize and Resist the Urge to Use Cocaine , Information on therapy for cue-induced relapse http//www.nida.nih.gov/NIDA_Notes/NNVol13N6/Coping.html