What Role Does Biological Play In Addiction Essay

Addiction, it is all around us, affecting people from all walks of life, it is not limited to certain social classes or lifestyles. It is found in every ethnic group, regardless of gender or age. It affects our neighbors, our friends, and our family either directly or indirectly. Although substances such as alcohol and illegal drugs are two of the most common addictions we hear about, there is a wide range of substances and even activities such as gambling and shopping. There is some debate whether addiction is a brain disease or a choice.

Psychology is a developing science which studies the mental functions, processes, and behaviors of an individual. In the science of psychology, many debates arise; nature vs. nurture is one of the most popular ones. These psychological debates are followed by research, backing up either nature or nurture or both. Nature suggest heredity impacts human psychological development; nurture suggests the environment impacts our psychological development. Addiction plays a large role in nature vs. nurture. Addiction is defined as a person being attached to a certain activity or item; an addict is one who has a dependency on particular substances or activity. There are many debates on whether addiction is caused by genes or the environment. Many researchers believe if they had the answer of addiction being a genetic condition or an environmental factor, they would be able to resolve the problem of addicts, or so they believe.

Addiction is thought of a biological nature that is past through genetics according to the biological theory as explained in P2. A contrasting theory of the biological theory would be the classical and operant conditioning theory, this was made by Pavlov. The basis of conditioning theories is that addiction is the end result of the reinforcement of drug use. The drug acts as a reinforcer and gains control over the user’s behavior. In contrast to the biological models of the exposure theories, these conditioning models suggest that anyone can show addictive behavior if they are given reinforcements, regardless of their genetics. The advantage of this

Brain chemistry can affect different addicts more then others. Drugs and alcohol are more of the main addictions that brain chemistry affects. Once taking these addictive substances your internal natural drug dopamine is lowers causing you to seek more external addictive substances. This causes craving and makes it a lot harder for the addict to stop. In Olds and Milner’s later experiments, they allowed the rats to press a particular lever to arouse themselves, to the effect that they would press it as much as seven-hundred times per hour. This region soon came to be known as the "pleasure center". Using drugs and alcohol stimulates the pleasure center in the brain that makes your brain think, “feels good- want more“. This can make it increasingly harder for an addict to stop using, until they hit a point called “rock bottom”. This is where choice comes back into play.

Cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines, alcohol, opium, tobacco, hypnotics, just to name a few. Addiction is a chronic disease that affects the chemicals in the brain. It dysfunctions the circuits in the brain that deal with memory, reward, sex, motivation, behavior, relationships and emotions all mostly resulting in substance use or other behaviors to fulfill those circuit rewards. This world is in a current addiction epidemic on drugs. Let’s try to understand addiction to make it a little clearer.

The concept that drugs abuse and being more likely to inherit the likelyhood of being addicted has always intrigued me. It intrigues me because it makes sense. Why is it that people pick up smoking cigarettes after the first time? Or people of Native American descent are more likely than most ethnic groups to be alcoholics? There is the whole concept of nature v. Nurture. Our surrounding pre-determine our likelylihood of becoming addicted based on if one of our parents drank. But what if it's more than that? What if what we are inheriting is not the behavior immersed around us, although that does play a factor, but the genetics behind the initial addiction?

Addiction: is it a disease or a choice? A disease can be described as “a disorder of structure or function that produces specific signs or symptoms, or that affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of a physical injury.” Knowing this, one can believe addiction is a disease. It is something that is done frequently, that usually does not end, just as a disease; it cannot cease on its own, because it requires some form of treatment. The big question regarding addiction is why people believe it to be a choice opposed to a disease.

My position regarding the importance of biology and genetics on substance abuse and addiction are similar to recent readings, but I feel that free will is a factor in addiction. My father, grandfather, and grandmother were all alcoholics, and I can determine that the

Addictions are a diverse set of common and complex diseases that are to some extent tied together by shared genetic and environmental factors. Addiction includes alcohol use disorders, cannabis and cocaine use disorders, nicotine dependence, as well as non-substance–related behaviors. Both genetic and environmental variables contribute to the use and abuse of addictive substances, which may eventually lead to addiction.

All types of addictions should be looked at from a philosophical and psychological point of view. Those in the fields of neuroscience, psychology and philosophy often compare their views to show the similarities of addictions whether they be substance induced or behavioral. “Behavioral science experts believe that all entities capable of stimulating a person can be addictive; and whenever a habit changes into an obligation, it can be considered as addiction” (Alaghemandan et al 290). Some addictions can affect people physically. Caffeine and nicotine provide prime examples. The body’s physical state becomes dependent on its effects and causes withdrawal symptoms without use. One of the main differences in behavioral and substance addictions is that behavioral addictions have no apparent physiological or physical withdrawal symptoms. It is not the physical body that is addicted, but the feeling that one gets mentally. The physical body is only affected by the

Addictions can form from using mood altering drugs such as, nicotine, alcohol, cocaine and caffeine, or behavioral processes as with gambling, eating, sex or shopping (Schwartz 21). Schwartz

79). Overall, this is a problem, because there continues to be a lack of the public endorsement and support of those seeking treatment regardless of the addiction. Individuals suffer with addictive behaviors for many reasons that include genetic factors. These things are uncontrollable and are harder to be prevented. Inaba and Cohen (2014) stated, “One of the genes that signals a susceptibility to compulsive overreaction” (p. 7.47). The new definition of addiction non/substance and behavior is now based on the psychoactive drugs and certain behaviors that produce the surge of dopamine in the midbrain are biological substrate for addictive behavior (Smith, 2012). Overall, it is important to include all addictive behaviors and substance abuse when diagnosing individuals. It is more important to treat all conditions or addictions than it is to assume that it is not as an important or one is more problematic than one or the

They assume addicts lack moral principles or self-discipline and that they can quit by simply deciding to. The reality is, people who have struggled with substance abuse have often found it extremely difficult to quit due to the physical and/or mental addiction. Drug have the ability to change the brain patterns and cause health complications, making things harder in the long-term and may determine life or death. Fortunately, because of more research, there are more ways to back out of an addiction and seek help through an enduring and extensive treatment. Factors that affect the likelihood and speed of developing an addiction are environmental and individual factors, including genetics and

Substance abuse and addiction have become a social problem that afflicts millions of individuals and disrupts the lives of their families and friends. Just one example reveals the extent of the problem: in the United States each year, more women and men die of smoking related lung cancer than of colon, breast and prostate cancers combined (Kola & Kruszynski, 2010). In addition to the personal impact of so much illness and early death, there are dire social costs: huge expenses for medical and social services; millions of hours lost in the workplace; elevated rates of crime associated with illicit drugs; and scores of children who are damaged by their parents’ substance abuse behavior (Lee, 2010). This paper will look at

It is also possible that heroin addiction is similar to alcohol dependence, which has been found to be genetic. For example, children of alcoholics are said to be 4 times as likely to become alcoholics as opposed to people without family history of alcoholism. However, part of this amount of risk can be accounted for by environmental