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Understanding Addictions

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Perhaps One's Actions are Not Theirs After All Perhaps those addicted may not be solely at fault. There are many types of addictions but they all have one common attribute. The one attribute they all have in common is that they all stem from the brain. There is a common belief that addictions result from one making poor choices; however, that might not always be the case. By understanding addictions and how they can be hereditary is crucial in order to prevent addictions for the duration of generations. The importance of understanding that genetics are linked to addition is significant because it can prevent future addictions throughout families. Most people in today’s world use the word addiction but they do not fully understand the meaning …show more content…

The addict’s brain becomes overridden and continuously wants the substance which it craves. Help Guide.org produced an article titled “Understanding Addiction”. The article reads as following, “Addictive substances and behaviors stimulate the circuit then overload it. In nature rewards usually come only with time and effort. Addictive drugs and behaviors provide a shortcut, flooding the brain with dopamine and other neurotransmitters”(Understanding Addiction 1). In other words, when the brain is pleasured it feels rewarded. Normally rewards are earned, but the use of substances provides a rewarded feeling to the brain. Neurobiology is the biology of the nervous system.This research is what provides us with the information on the brain being taken over. The brain is broken up into several sections. Research has shown there to be certain genetic codes that vary from addiction to addiction. These codes can inform people what the brain’s drug of choice may or may not be. No one certain factor can determine if a person becomes addicted or not. For example, the AI allele of the dopamine receptor gene DRDR is mainly found in those addicted to alcohol or cocaine. Another example is that those with high stress level hormones have been noted to have an increased risk for addition. Individual differences have also shown to meter the effectiveness of a drug on a person. One study compared two sons, one of the son’s father's was a alcoholic and the other son’s father was not. Neither son drinks, but when given alcohol the son of the alcoholic seemed to have a higher tolerability to the alcohol than the son of the non alcoholic father. Obviously the son of the alcoholic has genes from his father that cause alcohol not to affect him as much, and this can lead to him over drinking and becoming an alcoholic

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