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Biological approach to addiction
Biological approach to addiction
The neurophysiology of addiction
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Addiction is like all behaviours “the business of the brain”. Addictions are compulsive physical and psychological needs from habit-forming sustenances like nicotine, alcohol, and drugs. Being occupied with or involved in such activities, leads a person who uses them again and again to become tolerant and dependent eventually experiencing withdrawal. (Molintas, 2006). Addictive drugs cause dopamine neurons to release dopamine, the pleasure hormone. The narcotics disable the neurons that would usually keep the dopamine neurons in check; becoming over stimulated. Endorphins are produced and released within the brain, creating a high and reinforcing the individual’s positive associations with the activity. Hence “the rush” (Molintas, 2006) Considering alcohol, alcoholic beverages have been a part of this nation`s past since the Pilgrims landed (David Capuzzi, 2008, p. 4). Early colonists had a high regard for alcoholic beverages because alcohol was believed to be a healthy substance with preventative and curative capabilities rather than as an intoxicant. (David Capuzzi, 2008, p. 4) Alcohol was the “centerpiece” in taverns throughout the colonies. The production and consumption of alcohol caused enough concern to precipitate several versions of the `temperance ‘movement, which was developed to encourage people to refrain from the use of distilled spirits. Their goal was the replacement of excessive drinking with more moderate and socially approved levels of drinking (David Capuzzi, 2008, p. 4). In the early 1800`s, clergy took the position that alcohol could corrupt both the mind and body (David Capuzzi, 2008, p. 4). Throughout history, humans have used drugs to achieve desired changes of experiences. Even ancient warriors “... ... middle of paper ... ...rator, can deny responsibility by claiming a lack of control caused by drugs or alcohol. It remains valid that drug and alcohol abuse are common characteristics of all forms of violence (Wallace, 2008, p. 19). Works Cited David Capuzzi, M. D. (2008). Foundations of Addictions Counselling. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. Molintas, D. (2006, November 26). Addictions. Retrieved from Anatomy of Addictions: www.pcij.org/i-report/2006/addictions.html Stanton Peele. (1988). Major Contemporay Perspectives on Addiction and Alcoholism. New York, NY: Macmillian, Inc. UnKnown. (2011, January 7). Is Alcoholism a Disease? Retrieved January 7, 2011, from Alcohol and Drug Guide.com: www.alcohol-and-drug-guide.com/alcoholism-disease-model.html Wallace, H. (2008). Family Violence Legal, Medical, and Social Perspectives - Fifth Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.
Aaron, Paul and Musto, David, Temperance and Prohibition in America: A Historical Overview. In: Moore, Mark H., and Gerstain, Dean R. (eds) Alcohol and Public Policy: Beyond the Shadow of Prohibition. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1981. Pp 127-181.
Many may say that the Antebellum Temperance Movement was primarily motivated by religious moralism. I tend to take that stance as well. The Antebellum Temperance Movement of the 18th century was focused around the idea that people, mostly men, should abstain from alcohol if they could not drink the spirits in moderation. In this era, many women had suffered greatly because their loved ones would imbibe excessively leaving them short on money, food, and even shelter which left many impoverished and unable to care for their families. Additionally, the excessive consumption of alcohol led to health care issues, crime and in the end, destitution. The first author, W.J. Rorabaugh, is a proponent on the side of how Christian ministers, “portrayed liquor as the tool of the devil and develop temperance societies as socialization institutions to ease social tensions and anxieties that contributed to alcohol consumption,” (Madaras, L.; SoRelle, J. Pg. 256) Appositionally, John J. Rumbarger opposes by stating that, “the nineteenth–century temperance reform was the product of the pro-capitalist market economy whose entrepreneurial elite led the way toward abstinence and prohibitionist campaigns. In order to guarantee the availability for a more productive workforce,” (Madaras, L.; SoRelle, J. Pg. 256). I agree with W.J. Rorabaugh that during the Antebellum Temperance Movement, the church’s played an enormous role in prohibiting alcohol consumption because it was the “tool of the devil”.
Blocker, Jack S. "American Temperance Movements: Cycles of Reform." Boston : Twayne Publishers, c1989. Ezell, Marcel D. "Early Attitudes toward Alcoholic Beverages in the South." Red River Valley Historical Review 7, 1982. Nott, Eliphalet.
Even in the early times, alcohol was a key component in everyone’s lives. According to Tori Avey in “The Great Gatsby, Prohibition, and Fitzgerald” in colonial times people drank beverages containing alcohol at every meal. Weak beer and cider was the choice dinks in the 1700's (Avey). In the 1800's, farmers were able to cultivate more potent grains to make rum and whiskey (Avey). By 1830 men, 15 years and up, began drinking 88 bottles of whiskey per year; since then numbers have tripled (Avey). Men began losing their jobs, wasting paychecks, and neglecting their families. This called for a change.
The call for temperance was supported by progressive reformers who viewed the “Devil’s Brew” as the primary source ...
Alcohol Prohibition was supposed to improve the country’s social problems but it only led to the rise of powerful criminals. Prohibition was the first of the many culture wars that would divide the United States in the twentieth century. For centuries alcohol has been part of the American life; the prevalence of alcohol in daily life was plainly visible. According to Lerner, “the Americans can fix nothing, without a drink. If you meet, you drink; if you part, you drink; if you make acquaintance, you drink … you start it early in life, and you continue it, until you soon drop into the grave” (1). As the consumption rate of distilled spirits increased, American’s love for drinks caused problems: domestic violence, crime, neglected families, economic ruin, disease, and death. It was these combined effects that led reformers to warn against alcohol. Waves of temperance reformers, and temperance groups like the Washingtonians had tried to change drinkers through voluntary abstinence, but those who believed that moral courage and personal resolve could conquer alcoholism were quickly disappointed (Lerner 2).
According to a Website entitled “Saint Jude Retreat House,” alcoholism and drug addiction are not diseases because those types of behaviors can be avoided and there is help available to change these behaviors. Although it has been found true that drug and alcohol dependency can be passed down through hereditary there is no concrete evidence I have found that proves that this is a disease. In a book entitled Treating Substance Abuse, Theory and Technique 2nd edition, says “This first and probably least controversial of the disease models can be termed the “medical consequences model.”
In the 1600's and 1700's, the American colonists drank large quantities of beer, rum, wine, and hard cider. These alcoholic beverages were often safer to drink than impure water or unpasteurized milk and also less expensive than coffee or tea. By the 1820's, people in the United States were drinking, on the average, the equivalent of 7 gallons of pure alcohol per person each year (“drinkingprohibition” 1). As early as the seventeenth century, America was showing interest towards prohibition. Some people, including physicians and ministers, became concerned about the extent of alcohol use (“There was one...” 1). They believed that drinking alcohol damaged people's health and moral behavior, and promoted poverty. People concerned about alcohol use u...
Most people point to wars, Presidents or the economy when asked to describe the history of the United States, but what about alcohol. Social history in general has always taken a back seat to political and economic history, mostly because many aspects of social history are not exactly bright spots from the past. Alcohol, for example, is actually a much bigger aspect of our history than one may expect. As a matter of fact, early America was centered around drinking as a kind of social event. William Rorabaugh’s book Alcoholic Republic outlines how prevalent drinking really was during the years after the Revolutionary War. Rorabaugh argues that post-colonial Americans should be considered alcoholics. However, the evidence Rorabaugh uses
There are many biological factors that are involved with the addicted brain. "The addicted brain is distinctly different from the nonaddicted brain, as manifested by changes in brain metabolic activity, receptor availability, gene expression, and responsiveness to environmental cues." (2) In the brain, there are many changes that take place when drugs enter a person's blood stream. The pathway in the brain that the drugs take is first to the ventral tegmentum to the nucleus accumbens, and the drugs also go to the limbic system and the orbitofrontal cortex, which is called the mesolimbic reward system. The activation of this reward system seems to be the common element in what hooks drug users on drugs (2).
Hanson, David J. "History of Alcohol and Drinking around the World." WWW2 Webserver. Web. .
Alcohol is an extremely dangerous substance, not only does it do a lot of damage to the drinker physically and emotionally, it also harms others around them such as family, friends and the society in general (Gmel, & Rehm,2003). This essay will look at the dynamics of alcohol, addiction, past and present approaches of alcoholism and the neurological networks of alcoholism.
Without contrast, the primary reason for drug abuse in individuals comes from the conscious state of addiction. According to Webster’s, addiction is described as “the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity (Hacker, 2011).” Sure, human nature’s desire to conform to peer pressure might cause one to first try a certain drug, but the euphoric mental states found in drugs mentally trap many individuals into becoming dependent upon these sensations. With that being said, these sensations vary depending on the type of drug used.
Everitt, B. Robbins, T. (1999) Drug addiction: bad habits add up. Macmillian Magazines, volume 389, pg 567-570.
Alcoholism is one of the biggest medical problems in the Western world. Alcohol has been around since the time Jesus walked the Earth as some say. The problem continues to increase every year and has a negative impact on society. There are no upsides to alcohol. Nearly every town and city has restaurants that serve alcohol, and has stores where it can be purchased. Recently I saw a news article that said they are trying to get local stores to sell the hard liquor. For these reasons, the nature of alcoholism needs to be exposed. The problems that arise from this disease need to be shown. The purpose of this paper is to talk about the problem, the cause and effects, and the treatment process.