Addiction And Behavior Analysis

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Recommended: This paper will discuss addiction

Many individuals experience a compulsive act towards something which causes harm to them and sometimes even those around the individual. Addiction is the term used to describe such behavior and it eventually causes many individuals to lose control over their own actions (Tracy, 2016). Excessive engagement in addictive behaviors or the use of substances is caused by the brain reward effect of it which causes “neuroadaptation circuitry leading to impaired control over further” substance or behavior (American Society of Addiction Medicine, 2011). Millions of individuals around the world have addictions to drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and even to behaviors such as shopping and eating. Eating is a normal process since food is essential for survival. …show more content…

Different studies have measured the brain activity in both drug and eating addictions and the craving was provoked by a visual representation of the substance. During a study at Yale University, it took just the sight of a milkshake to provoke the same pleasure and activate the same reward centers of the brain “as cocaine among people with addictive eating habits” (Ross, 2012). Regions of the brain, such as the orbital frontal cortex, prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate, nucleus accumbens, amygdala, and insula were found to be involved in the mediation of drug craving and food craving (Jong, …show more content…

For example, rats demonstrated in a study a stronger desire for fatty and sugary products when these were taken away along with withdrawal symptoms (Ross, 2012). Withdrawal symptoms include anxiety, stress and motivation deficits. The withdrawal effects might vary depending on the type of drug or food and severity of consumption. However, drugs of abuse have greater potent effects than do foods and drugs are not necessary for survival as food is for humans (Roger, 2017). Moreover, when food or drug is deprived, the minimum electrical current needed to reach self-stimulation is increased as a result of desensitization (Jong, 2015). In different studies, food restrictions among individuals with eating addictions caused an increase in frustration and stress which consequently promoted binge eating (Jong,

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