Compulsion addictive behaviors

Studies of the 48 bp repeat polymorphism of the DRD4 gene in impulsive, compulsive, addictive behaviors Tourette syndrome,... 

Addiction may result from inappropriate neuronal plasticity. As discussed in earlier sections of this chapter, drugs of abuse activate the same neuronal pathways as natural reinforcers. However, they do so in a strong and unregulated manner that is hypothesized to lead to abnormal engagement of learning and memory mechanisms, ultimately producing abnormal plasticity in neuronal circuits involved in motivation and decision-making. As a result, the addict becomes narrowly focused on compulsive, habitual behaviors associated with the addictive... 

Addiction is a set of behaviors characterized by compulsive use of a drug and compulsion to obtain more of the drug for personal use. Psycholc ical dependence, the intense craving or desire to repeatedly use a drug or obtain a drug because it produces a sense of improved well-being, is a component of addictive behavior. 

I both popular and technical discussion, addictive behavior is said to be in some sense out of control. However, this description does not distinguish addiction from various forms of moral weakness. The excessive indulgence of appetites, for example, gluttony and promiscuity, are excesses for which we still hold one another responsible. The loss of control in addiction seems different Addiction appears to be a source of compulsive desire, desire too strong for the agent to resist.1... 

Nonetheless, talk of compulsion remains controversial among theorists and practitioners as well as among nonprofessionals in their dealings with addictive behavior.2 In part, the controversy is due to moral ambivalence. If addiction is compulsive, then addicts might be absolved from responsibility. To some, this implication is a necessary step to a more humane policy ("Addicts need help, not blame"). Others find this way of thinking... 

Since nonhuman animals lack a capacity for critical evaluation, they are not even prima facie candidates for either motivational compulsion or weakness. Addictions may move them contrary to their own good but not contrary to their own conceptions of the good. Nevertheless, when their addictive behavior displaces their natural appetites, they suffer from what might be called an appetitive impairment. 

There is some evidence that addiction behaviors may be genetic in other words, some people who take prescription pain medication may become addicted because of an inherited tendency. However, genetic predisposition is likely to be only partially to blame. Environmental factors, underlying mental illness, and history of known addictions to alcohol or drugs are other factors that contribute to compulsive or addictive drug use. 

Stanton Peek s The Meaning of Addiction Compulsive Experience and Its Interpreiatioii (Lexington, Massachusetts Lexington Books, 1985) is one of the most insightful commentaries on addictive behavior. See also Chapter 7 of Andrew Weil s Natural Health, Natural Medicine A Comprehensive Manual for Wellness and Self-Care (Boston. Houghton Mifflin, 1990). 

SUMMARY. Alcoholism, a compulsive addiction to heavy and frequent drinking, is a behavior over which the afflicted individual has little, if any, control. Untreated alcoholism may cause extensive and severe physical and mental damage and may eventually result in psychosis and/or death. 

Drug addiction is defined as a syndrome in which drug use (e.g., psychostimulants, opiates, alcohol) pervades all life activities of the user. Life becomes governed by the drug and the addicted patient can lose social compatibility (e.g., loss of partner and friends, loss of job, crime). Behavioral characteristics of this syndrome are compulsive drug use, craving, and chronic relapses that can occur even after years of abstinence. 

In 1988, the Surgeon General established three criteria for addiction liability.284 These general areas are Psychoactivity, Compulsive Use (Substance Dependence), and Drug-Reinforced Behavior (Reinforcing Effects). 

Addiction A primary chronic neurobiologic disease, with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. It is characterized by behaviors that include one or more of the following 5Cs chronicity, impaired control over drug use, compulsive use, continued use despite harm, and craving. 

Blum, K., Sheridan, P.J., Wood, R.C., Braverman, E.R., Chen, T.J., and Comings, D.E. (1995) Dopamine D2 receptor gene variants association and linkage studies in impulsive addictive-compulsive behavior. Pharmacogenetics 5 121-141. 

Addiction is a complex behavior that refers to compulsive drug use. Addiction research is one of the few scientific areas that involves the biological and social sciences neurobiology, psychology, and sociology. Because of its complexity, there is much disagreement on the precise medical definition of addic-... 

Fischer distinguishes incontinence from incapacity by defining guidance control in terms of weak responsiveness In contrast to the compulsive agent, the weak-willed agent is sensitive to at least some sufficient reasons to do otherwise. But, I doubt that any clearly intentional behavior fails to meet this condition. Certainly, the paradigm cases of severe and desperate addictions are not literally irresistible in this sense. Few if any addicts are beyond the reach of one counterincentive or another. 9... 

First, there is the sometimes striking similarity in behavioral morphology and cognitive set between such behavioral addictions and the chemical addictions—including the all-encompassing, driven, compulsive, repetitious quality of the behavioral acts themselves and the... 

A particularly important set of beliefs is the idea that a given substance is addictive. Once a behavioral pattern is conceptualized as an addiction, with the concomitant causal beliefs, it may change dramatically. An especially important belief is that addiction is, if not irresistible, at least very hard to resist, almost amounting to compulsive desire. Hence, to the causal beliefs about the effects of drug taking on the addict s body and socioeconomic status, we must add causa) beliefs about the effect of addiction on his will—specifically, on the ability to quit. Two opposite beliefs about this effect may have the same impact on behavior. Some addicts use their (usually self-deceptive) belief that they can quit at any time as an excuse for not quitting. Others use their (equally self-deceptive) belief that they are unable to quit as an excuse for not quitting. The belief that one is addicted may reinforce the addiction by the mechanism of dissonance reduction ... 

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