rat park

It is shown that people that tend to be involved in the use of drugs do so after making a voluntary choice (Heyman, 2009). The major use of drugs for social and non-medical preferences can lead to dependence and further addictions, it is a choice that people tend to make and from that it can lead to wanting it more, do it more with friends and further it becoming an addiction, that then effects the brain and body. When drugs are used in the wrong way they can cause many health issues but some people still tend to refer to drug addiction as a disease. Yes, There has been compelling evidence that addiction is a disease, however the result shown are weak and inconclusive. Results of different brain scans are shown by The National Institute of Drug Abuse (2017) are used to back up that addiction in fact is a disease, however the brain scans used in this research are not symbolic of any abnormal changes. The research by The National Institute of Drug Abuse do point out that changes in an individual’s brain is shown as evidence that addiction is a brain disease, however this argument can be shown as mistaken as changes in many human brains can be seen as not exclusive in addicts, although they can occur when a person is normal (Branch,2011). To top it off the information that is stated by the NIDA however doesn’t show evidence of the behaviour of addicts being involuntary or

The article, “Rat Park,” is about a study about being addicted to drugs. In the article they talk about Alexander’s hypothesis that drugs do not cause addiction, but it's based on the living conditions a person is living in. The experiment was taken on rats, where some live caged in and and another set lived in the rat park. The experiment in the article shows, “. . . successfully showed that rats will resist even the most irresistibility delivered drug if it interferes with the alternatively gratifying opportunities available to them” (Slater). In the cage the rats would take the water with the drug, while in the rat park, the rats had the option to drink plain water or water with the drug. The rats who had the option of which type of liquid they want, would choose the liquid without the drug. Having this experiment done gave Alexander a conclusion about addiction. It states, “Alexander’s research suggests that addictions are in fact quite subject to free will” (Slater). The people studied on rats on how they are the type of animal are kind of close to humans, well on how they body system works. Every human has the right to be free, but are the humans really deciding base what they think is right.

Addiction is a chronic brain disease that often results in some sort of relapse. Addiction is characterized by inability to control drug use which results in problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships. This disease causes compulsive behaviors such as the need to use drugs despite the many harmful consequences that affect the addicted individual and those around him or her. Although for most people, the initial decision to use drugs is a one time lapse in judgement, the brain is easily affected by these drugs if the person decides to use these drugs multiple times. The changes that occur to the brain over time will cause the addicted person’s ability to resist the intense impulses of drugs to be altered causing the addict to often give into the temptation of these drugs. Like other chronic diseases, addiction often involves cycles of relapse and remission. Without treatment or engagement in recovery activities, addiction is progressive and can result in disability or premature death. Drug addiction is an issue that many people deal with whether they are the addict or the addict is their loved one; but with a good source of support anyone can over come the challenges and consequences of addiction.

It is believed that certain individuals are predisposed or vulnerable to addiction based on biological, psychological and social influences. The euphoric high produced by many addictive substances is the result of overstimulation of the “pleasure center” of the brain. This is the same area that controls emotions, fear, self-control and overall feelings of wellness. The presence of these foreign chemicals creates a response that the brain will crave as soon as it fades. The brain’s chemistry works against its own health, as it rewires its decision making faculties around the primary goal of finding and taking more of the drug” (1). Many people mistakenly believe that psychological addiction is somehow less serious or real than physical addiction. The psychological aspects of addiction are much more challenging to repair and recover from than the physical addiction. Psychological addiction can last for years or even a lifetime.

Wise and Koob state that addiction begins with positive reinforcement, habits, a person feels the “high” of the habit, however, then the tolerance sets in which conditions the brain for negative reinforcements and one increases the use to enjoy the habit (2014). According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (2012), drug addiction is a chronic brain disease. This disease is complex disease that is treatable, however it is a lifetime of treatment, sending many into relapses over and over again. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)

According to the biological perspective, drug use may start off as casual, but through continued use, it produces changes in the brain that influences the onset and maintenance of drug addiction. (Horvath et al., 2013). Drugs have their most prominent effects on the function of neurotransmitters. Almost all major drugs of abuse activate the reward system and cause a flood in the levels of dopamine which is a neurotransmitter that is involved in pleasure. As a result, not only do people learn to associate drug use with pleasure, but the brain also starts to reduce its own natural dopamine production in adjustment to the levels of dopamine produced by the drugs. This is called tolerance, and the consequences of tolerance are highly influential

As results of scientific research, we know that addiction is a disease that affects both the brain and behavior. A disease is an interruption, cessation, or disorder of a body system, or organ structure, or function; according to Stedman’s Medical Dictionary. (Sheff ,2013) cites, the disease od addiction has an etiologic agent, identified by a group of signs and symptoms or consistent anatomic alterations. There are significant changes in the brain. The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) states that addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward motivation, memory and related circuitry. Dysfunction in these circuits leads to characteristics biological, psychological, social and spiritual manifestations. This is reflected in an individual pathology pursuing reward and /or relief by substance use and other behaviors. (Addiction is characterized by inability to consistently abstain, impairment of behavioral control, craving, diminished recognition of significant problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships and dysfunctional emotional responses. Like other chronic diseases, addiction often involves cycles of relapse, and remission. Without treatment or engagement in recovery activities, addiction is progressive and can result in disability or premature death. (ASAM Adopted as Policy, February

Across all addictions, there is a central theory as to how such an addiction can occur. The common mechanism of all addictive substances is the activation of the brain’s “reward system”, made up of dopaminergic neurons of the midbrain and their extensions to the limbic system (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3272277/). This system is normally used in advancing evolutionary fitness promoting activity, such as sex, food, or social interactions (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3272277/). In such normal natural behaviors, the reward system activity is relatively brief and weak. However, addictive substances abuse the system’s circuitry, causing

Alexander believed that there is nothing addictive about drugs and the even constant exposure to addictive drugs does not lead to problems. In experiments on rats, narcotics were proven to be addictive since rats would suffer pain just so they can fulfill their need for drugs. However, Alexander disagreed that the rodents became addicted because of the environment they were kept in. He believed that if the rodents were kept in an environment that was comfortable and happy, the rats would not care for the drugs. So he created a “happy” environment calling it “Rat Park”, a park for rats with enough space and clean water, so he can conduct perform a narcotics experiment.

Basic neurobiological research has improved our understanding of the biological and genetic causes of addiction. These findings have helped establish addiction as a biological brain disease that is chronic and relapsing in nature (Leshner, 1997). As the central nervous system is considered to be the communication pathway to the entire body with the brain being its control mechanism. The brain processes sensory information from throughout the body, guides muscle movement and locomotion, regulates a multitude of bodily functions, forms thoughts and feelings, modulates perception and moods, and essentially controls all behavior (Leshner, 1997). The body and brain then become defendant on this stimuli, as the body and brain adjust to the rewards of receiving this type of sensation. This is where the substance abuse and addiction problems

There was one major study that showed the impact of connection with addiction and recovery. The study knows as “Rat Park” was conducted by Bruce K. Alexander in the 1970’s. The article, Rat Park Substance Use Experiment explains the experiment. In this experiment, Professor Alexander studied whether continued drug addiction was completely a result of imbibing the substance, or whether there were outside factors contributing to addiction. Alexander took two groups of rats and put them in two different compartments. Half of the rats were placed in complete isolation. The other half were placed in a very large area that had walls painted to look like woodlands, and cedar shavings and tons of boxes for the rats to play in, pretty much giving the

The Radical Addiction The purpose of Bruce Alexander’s experiment was to challenge the beliefs that people have about addiction. He wanted to know if addiction was still a result even when a benevolent environment was present. He wanted to look at the affects social, physical and physiological restrains have on addiction. This experiment’s purpose was to show if addiction was due to the chemical or if it was culture.

It has become common wisdom to dismiss the Bruce Alexander work. However, Lauren Slater at the chapter Rat Park gives a quit unique and unexpected thought towards drug addicts. My whole life I heard it said that when more individuals get exposed to a drug the more addictive they become. (Slater) A few of physiologist have disclaimed and ignore Bruce Alexander’s experiment regarding drug addiction. The experiment was conducted with Mice, they were put first in a dirty and nasty cage, it turns out that the Mice on the dirty cage became extremely addicted. The Mice on another cage had a spectacular environment and the Mice refused to take the drugs. The concluded that marbles environments did not cause addiction instead it did

This video from Huffington post is very interesting and I found it controversial. In this video, the author, Mr. Alexander was trying to find a link between drug addiction and solitude. Mr. Alexander did a series of experiment with rats. In the first experiment, he placed a rat in a cage. He gave it two water bottle, the first bottle contains regular water and the second bottle contains water with cocaine or heroin. Mr. Alexander realized the rat just drunk the water that contains drug to death. In the second experiment, he built a rat park and put many rats in park and they interact with each other. Again, he gave them drug water and regular water. Mr. Alexander realized that none of the rate ever drunk the drug water. He concluded that when

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