Biological Influences on Drug Use

11 Key excerpts on "Biological Influences on Drug Use"

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  eBook - ePub

  Psychobiological Issues in Substance Use and Misuse

  • Philip Murphy, Philip N. Murphy, Philip Murphy, Philip N. Murphy(Authors)
  • 2020(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  A considerable overlap with the subject matter of psychopharmacology is to be noted here with regard to pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes. As such processes may be regarded in a broad sense as biological, with their consequences for drug action having effects on psychological functioning (i.e. on cognitions and behavioural responses), it is difficult and artificial to separate them from a discussion of a psychobiological perspective on substance use. The term ‘social psychology’ will be used to refer to the study of psychological phenomena in relation to social influences. One commonly accepted definition of social psychology describes it as “the scientific study of the ways that people’s behaviour and mental processes are shaped by the real or imagined presence of others” [ 10 ]. From this perspective, it is these interpersonal influences which contribute to a person’s interpretation of and attribution of meaning to their behaviour. The next section of this chapter outlines some of the basic elements of psychobiological knowledge which may serve as a foundation for examining the relationship of this discipline to other domains which focus on a substance user’s subjective meanings and their interpretation of their own behaviour. Psychobiological processes in substance use and misuse The bioavailability of a drug to the brain is fundamental to its ability to influence cognition, mood, and overt behaviour. From a psychobiological perspective, two important ways in which a consumed drug may influence psychological functioning are through acting in some way on the processes of neurotransmission, and/or changing the structural properties of the brain in a way which has consequences for psychological functioning and overt behaviour

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  Handbook of Adolescent Development

  • Sandy Jackson, Luc Goossens, Sandy Jackson, Luc Goossens(Authors)
  • 2020(Publication Date)
  • Taylor & Francis

    (Publisher)

  Finally, another interesting proposal is the model by Hawkins, Catalino and Miller (1992). This model is based on the assumption that the different risk factors that configure the biopsychosocial matrix do not occur independently or in isolation but frequently take place in combination, thus affecting different areas of the adolescent’s performance. Adolescents susceptible to highrisk behaviours show problems in multiple areas and tend to belong to social networks that foster the development of these risk behaviours and reinforce their continued performance (Hawkins et al., 2002). These authors consider it necessary to study the different risk factors that are present in substance consumption from an ecological perspective, which takes into account five basic contexts: individuals, school, family, peers, and community. In this respect, they consider laws and normative behaviours, availability of substances, economic deprivation, neighbourhood disorganization and mobility to be important risk factors for substance consumption in the societycommunity context. In the family context, organization, practices of family control, conflicts, and parental styles are also considered to be relevant risk factors. In the academic area, some significant factors are recurrent absenteeism, low academic performance, little connection with the school environment and the existence of persistent and early antisocial behaviours. In relation to the peer group, Hawkins et al. (1992, 2002) regard peer rejection (or indifference at elementary school), favourable attitudes to substance consumption as well as behaviours of substance use by peers to be facilitator factors of drug consumption. Finally, in an individual context, biological and cognitive factors, rebellion against normative attitudes and values of society, lack of coping abilities, and a precocious initiation in deviant behaviours are considered by these authors to be important predictors of substance consumption.

  4. Applying constructs from the biopsychosocial model to initiation and continued drug use

  In accordance with the main contexts (individual, family, peer group and community) proposed in the biopsychological theories just mentioned, we will now try to integrate the different concepts and constructs on which these approaches are based in an explicative model that is focused on the risk factors associated to the different phases of drug consumption.

  As is shown in more detail in the following, while a considerable number of these risk factors concern the individual at different levels (biological, psychological, and socio-demographical), some refer to the influences of significant others (family and peers), and some refer to elements of a macro social order.

  4.1 The individual: Biological psychological, and structural variables 4.1.1 Biological variables

  The studies carried out in this field have shown that various drugs that produce an increase in a positive mood or euphoria, such as nicotine and alcohol, directly or indirectly affect the inhibiting neurotransmitter GABA, dopamine in the accubems nucleus or in the prefrontal cortex (Hodgkins et al., 2004; Tomkins & Sellers, 2001). The stimulation of these dopaminergic mechanisms represents the most important factor in explaining the strengthening effects and the potential addiction of various abusive substances. In addition to dopamine, it has been confirmed that certain proteins and other neurotransmitters contribute to the pathophysiology of the individual risk of drug dependency (Smith & Capps, 2005).

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  Addiction Controversies

  • David M. Warburton(Author)
  • 2023(Publication Date)
  • CRC Press

    (Publisher)

  10

  DRUG ADDICTION AS A PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL PROCESS

  Michael A. Bozarth DOI: 10.4324/9781003420170-10

  INTRODUCTION

  This chapter addresses the etiology of drug “addiction”. The emphasis is on biological mechanisms underlying “addiction”, although some other factors influencing drug use will also be discussed. The presentation is limited primarily to psychomotor stimulants (e.g. amphetamine, cocaine) and opiates (e.g. heroin, morphine) for two reasons. First, considerable knowledge has been gained during the past 15 years regarding the neurobiological mechanisms mediating their use. Second, these two pharmacological classes represent the best examples of potent addictive drugs, and the elucidation of their “addiction potential” can provide a framework for understanding use and abuse to other psychotropic agents.

  Some psychologists and sociologists assert that animal studies do not model the important psychological variables governing drug use. They suggest that psychological processes critical in the etiology of use cannot be studied in animal models and/or that environmental influences important in producing use cannot be duplicated in animal studies. This position is generally untenable, and animal models have been developed that accurately represent the primary processes involved in drug “addiction”. Support for the validity of these animal models will emanate from an understanding of the characteristics and the neural basis of drug use summarized in the following sections. The arguments presented in the chapter are tenable, but they represent only one of several perspectives used in studying substance use. The terminology and even some aspects of the empirical data are the topics of scientific debate. The objective of this chapter is not to provide a balanced presentation of controversial issues, but rather to develop a unifying framework for understanding the psychobiological basis of “addiction”.

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  Cocaine Abuse

  Behavior, Pharmacology, and Clinical Applications

  • Stephen T. Higgins, Jonathan L. Katz(Authors)
  • 1998(Publication Date)
  • Academic Press

    (Publisher)

  ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCE IN VULNERABILITY TO DRUG ABUSE Although vulnerability to drug abuse is genetically influenced, most estimates from both animal and human studies suggest that only about one-third of the vari-ance in cocaine response is due to genetic influence. As with genetic influences, both animal and human research contributes to identification of environmental fac-tors in drug abuse. Clinical research strategies can examine heritability within 12 G E N E T I C CONTRIBUTIONS TO D R U G A B U S E 3 0 1 broadly defined environmental contexts (e.g., before and after policy changes, in different geographical regions). Animal research can more precisely define and control environmental stimuli and study environmental and genetic influences within that context, but cannot always duplicate conditions that exist at the human level. As in the study of genetic influences, human and animal studies provide a helpful complement to understanding the influences of genetic and environmental influences on behavior. AVAILABILITY, STRUCTURE, AND ROUTE OF ADMINISTRATION A number of environmental factors are known to influence drug abuse. One of the more obvious of these is drug availability: if a drug is not available, use (and consequently dependence) is not possible. Often overlooked, however, are the en-vironmental factors of the drug itself and the method of drug administration. A drug is identified by its chemical structure, which is a major determinant of abuse liability. Drugs with certain chemical structures are more likely to be abused than drugs with other chemical structures. Although almost any drug can be self-ad-ministered under appropriate circumstances, most drugs that are abused have rather specific chemical structures. Even modest structural variations in the co-caine molecule results in a significant variation in drug self-administration behav-ior in animals (Ritz, Lamb, Goldberg, & Kuhar, 1987).

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  Drug Abuse and Antisocial Behavior

  A Biosocial Life Course Approach

  • Christopher P. Salas-Wright, Michael G. Vaughn, Jennifer M. Reingle González(Authors)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  2014 ). The list goes on and on as we have observed the manifold ways that social factors of all sorts help us make sense of who is and isn’t at heightened risk of addiction. Beyond the specifics, the takeaway here is that, while neurobiology is indispensable to a state-of-the-art understanding of addiction, there is simply no getting around the fact that drug abuse and addiction are phenomena that are also profoundly social in nature.

  Above we mentioned that some thinkers would likely suggest we situate our understanding of addicted brains within a broader social context. We should note that such thinking is not unique to ecological-systems theorists, but rather is an assertion that is also made by the leading proponents of the brain disease model of addiction. Leshner (1997 ) notes quite clearly in his seminal piece on addiction as a brain disease that “Addiction is not just a brain disease. It is a brain disease for which the social contexts in which it has both developed and is expressed are critically important” (p. 46). Similarly, McLellan et al. (2000 ), in their original article casting addiction as a chronic medical illness, unequivocally underscore the critical importance of factors such as socioeconomic status and social supports in the successful treatment of addiction and other chronic illnesses. Along the same lines, even a cursory review of the neurobiological model proposed by Volkow and Baler (2014 ) points to the foundational impact of factors in the economic, social, and built environment in influencing risk for drug use disorders. Simply, since its inception, leading theorists have continually recognized that the genetic and neurobiological understanding of addiction must be situated within a social, economic, and environmental context. In the words of Carter and Hall (2012 ),

  A major challenge for addiction policy and ethics will be finding ways to educate the public about the neurobiological basis of addiction in ways that recognize that drug use and addiction involves changes in the brain, but can still nevertheless be affected by individual and social choices, and the social environment (p. 249).

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  Concepts of Chemical Dependency

  • Harold Doweiko(Author)
  • 2018(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  The individual’s substance use reflects a combination of person-specific biological, psychological, and social influences (Winters et al., 2012). The substance use disorders are a common end point reached by different routes. In this chapter, the bio/psycho/social disorder of the SUDs will be reviewed. I. Biology: The “Bio” Part of the Bio/Psycho/Social Model Definition The biological component of the bio/psycho/social model is the “anatomical, structural and molecular substrates of a dis-ease” such as the substance use disorders, and the effects of that disorder on the biological functioning of the individual (Sadock, Sadock, & Ruiz, 2015, p. 3). History Proponents of the medical, or “disease,” model often point out that Dr. Benjamin Rush first suggested that alcoholism was a disease more than 260 years ago. When he made this obser-vation, a “disease” was classified as something that caused an imbalance in the nervous system (Meyer, 1996). By this stan-dard, substance use disorders (SUDs) would appear to meet the definition of a “disease” state, although one that is quite dif-ferent from what Dr. Rush envisioned. The substance use dis-orders are now thought to be the result of a biological dysfunc-tion, possibly on the cellular or even the molecular level, which alters normal biological processes within the body such as the reward system. However, the biological model of addictions has been challenged in spite of its contributions to the under-standing of the SUDs (Volkow, Koob, & McLellan, 2016). Process Nature has provided us with a reward system designed to reinforce behaviors that are of benefit to the individual or the species: eating when we are hungry, drinking water when we are thirsty, or taking advantage of opportunities for sex when possible.

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  Substance Use Disorders

  A Biopsychosocial Perspective

  • Perry M. Duncan(Author)
  • 2020(Publication Date)
  • Cambridge University Press

    (Publisher)

  In short, when addictive behavior results from drug-produced brain dysfunction, environmental conditions and cognitive processes, including learn- ing, can also influence the altered behavior. The Biopsychosocial Explanation of SUD Recognizing the role of the many determinants of human behavior, including biological, environmental, and developmental factors, is the underlying principle of the biopsychosocial (BPS) approach to understanding SUD, as introduced in Chapter 1. Introduction 217 Cultural and other social and environmental factors are important determinants of the socially acceptable use of alcohol and other drugs. Deviant and harmful use of drugs – including SUD – is also influenced by multiple causes including those not directly linked to abnormal brain function. Robert West maintains that there are three basic types of causes that underlie addiction: those related to such states as anxiety and depression, those related to rewarding drug effects such as incentive sensitization, and those resulting from environmental causes such as social relations or other distressing circumstances (West 2006). Many other scientists and scholars who investigate SUD also present evidence that nonbiological factors influence addictive behavior (e.g., Donovan 2005, Heilig et al. 2016, Shurtleff et al. 2009, Vaillant 2003, Washton and Zweben 2006). For many years, there was animosity between disease theory and cognitive behavioral explanations of addiction. To advocates of disease theory, the assertion of behavioral theorists that general principles of behavioral control and learning produce the destructive behavior seemed uncomfortably close to earlier explana- tions that SUD was essentially immoral and willful misbehavior. A wider accept- ance of a biopsychosocial explanation of SUD has removed much of the theoretical disagreement between older versions of disease and behavioral theories.

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  Neurobiology and Mental Health Clinical Practice

  New Directions, New Challenges

  • Dennis Miehls, Jeffrey Applegate(Authors)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Taylor & Francis

    (Publisher)

  Although we fully accept the importance of social context and believe that psychosocial factors serve as underpinnings or triggers of addictions, we wish to highlight the basic and applied literature on the neurobiology of SUD and the research on integrated treatment. Areas of neurobiological study have focused on the development of addictions (e.g., the role of genetics, the role of dopamine and the reward system, and the role of neurotransmitter signaling causing tolerance and cravings) and on how this body of research informs multidimensional approaches to treatment. The following findings emerge from these areas of study.

  HIGHLIGHTS OF NEUROBIOLOGICAL RESEARCH Research on Etiology of Addiction

  GENETIC STUDIES

  For centuries, it has been common knowledge that “alcoholism runs in families” (Kalant, 2009, p. 784), leading clinicians and persons with SUD to believe that addiction is genetically based. Indeed, family, twin, and adoption studies show that SUD has high hereditability and that genes play a role in one’s risk for developing addictions (Pihl & Stewart, 2013). Studies estimate that 40% to 60% of an individual’s vulnerability to addiction is due to genetic factors (National Institute of Drug Abuse [NIDA], 2010). However, Pihl and Stewart (2013) argued it is impossible to generalize these genetic findings, because biological markers vary from family to family and there have been hundreds, if not thousands, of genes identified as contributory to addictions, perhaps indirectly. Some of these genes, such as ones related to impulsivity, are evident in a number of other behavioral disorders and are not specific to addiction. Kalant (2009) also underscored that “a gene does not encode a trait,” and genes “are not necessarily continuously active, i.e., they may be switched on (‘expressed’) or off under different circumstances” (p. 785).

  Clearly, genetic factors are not the sole biological influence on substance use. Once a person begins using alcohol and/or other drugs, these substances affect nearly all brain neurotransmitters in complex ways not fully understood (G. Shean, personal communication, January 28, 2014). The following information describes some of the known neurochemical effects of substance use, yet this overview is inevitably oversimplified and subject to elaboration and revision as more knowledge becomes available.

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  Drug Use and Misuse

  • Stephen Maisto, Mark Galizio, Gerard Connors, , Stephen Maisto, Stephen Maisto, Mark Galizio, Gerard Connors(Authors)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  For example, the major advances in genetics that have been made in the last few decades have paved the way for increasing our understanding about genetically based differences in how individuals react to a given dose of a psychotherapeutic drug (see Chapter 13). We referred to one genetically based difference in reactions to drugs earlier when we discussed initial sensitivity to a drug. But in Chapter 4, we saw that there also are genetically based differences that underlie differences among racial and ethnic subgroups around the world in reactions to a dose of a given psychotherapeutic medication. A major reason for these differences is inherited variations (mutations) of the genes responsible for the enzymes that metabolize drugs, and they occur both within subgroups of individuals and between racial and ethnic subgroups (Keh- Ming et al., 2001). Genetically based differences such as these combine with other culturally based beliefs, attitudes, and expectancies about psychotherapeutic drugs, which of course overlap to a degree with racial and ethnic differences, to affect how individuals react to a given dose of psychotherapeutic medication. This same process may occur for other types of drugs as well. The information presented so far in this chapter and in Chapter 4 completes our overview of the drug experience and the factors that affect it. We have shown that the drug experience in humans is complex, because biological, psychological, and social/environmental factors influence it. This knowledge about the drug experience prepares us to address the fundamental topic of this text: the links between the drug experience and the behavior of drug use or, as commonly referred to by scientists, “drug-taking behavior.” We now turn to some of the principles and methods of behavioral pharmacology, which is the specialty area of psychopharmacology that concentrates on drug use as a learned behavior.

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  Pharmacology and Treatment of Substance Abuse

  Evidence and Outcome Based Perspectives

  • Lee M. Cohen, Frank L. Collins, Jr., Alice Young, Dennis E. McChargue, Thad R. Leffingwell, Katrina L. Cook, Lee M. Cohen, Frank L. Collins, Jr., Alice Young, Dennis E. McChargue, Thad R. Leffingwell, Katrina L. Cook(Authors)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  In review, twin and adoption studies have indicated that approximately 50% of the variance in risk for developing substance abuse and dependence can be explained by genetic factors (Gordis, 2000; Heath & Phil, 1995; Kendler, Neale, Heath, Kessler, & Eaves, 1994; Lumeng, Murphy, McBride, & Li, 1995). Recent studies have demonstrated that genetic factors account for a significant portion of variance in drug use, abuse, and dependence (e.g., see Bierut et al., 1998; Grove et al., 1990; Gynther, Carey, Gottesman, & Vogler, 1995; Kendler, Thornton, & Pedersen, 2000; Kendler, Prescott, Meyers, & Neale, 2003; Tsuang et al., 1996, 1998). In addition, the progression from initial use to abuse or dependence for marijuana and cocaine also appears to be largely due to genetic factors (Kendler & Prescott, 1998a, 1998b).

  It is important to note that behavioral genetics research has shown that the effect of genetic factors on behavior can vary significantly across development. For example, a study of Finish twins found that genetics accounted for only 18% of the variance in drinking initiation at age 14. However, at age 16 genetic factors accounted for one third of the variability in drinking patterns, and by age 18 genetic factors accounted for half of the variability in drinking behavior (Rose, Dick, Viken, Pulkkinen, & Kaprio, 2001). These findings highlight the importance of considering developmental factors when studying genetic and environmental factors underlying substance use and abuse.

  Common and Specific Genetic Risk

  A number of genetic studies have examined common genetic and environmental factors influencing the vulnerability to substance use disorders. For example, a large population-based study of male twins found that the genetic and shared environmental effects on risk for the use and misuse of six classes of illicit substances (i.e., cannabis, cocaine, hallucinogens, sedatives, stimulants, and opiates) were largely or entirely nonspecific to any particular drug class. Unique environmental experiences were found to largely determine whether predisposed individuals will use or misuse one class of drugs or another (Kendler et al., 2003). A large twin study found support for a common genetic vulnerability model, influenced by both genetic and environmental factors, that cuts across various classes of illicit drugs. Specifically, results from the Harvard Twin Study of Substance Abuse revealed that between 50 and 85% of the vulnerability to drug use is common across different categories of illicit drugs (Tsuang, Bar, Harley, & Lyons, 2001).

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  Substance Abuse in Adolescents and Young Adults

  A Manual for Pediatric and Primary Care Clinicians

  • Donald E. Greydanus, Gabriel Kaplan, Dilip R. Patel, Joav Merrick, Donald E. Greydanus, Gabriel Kaplan, Dilip R. Patel, Joav Merrick(Authors)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • De Gruyter

    (Publisher)

  Section I: Etiology and diagnosis 2 Neurobiology of substance use disorders Ahsan Nazeer and Michael R. Liepman Substance use disorders pose a signi fi cant burden to communities and societies across the world. Primarily disorders with onset in childhood or adolescence, un-treated substance use disorders typically progress into adulthood, growing in sever-ity and becoming chronic, relapsing, and potentially fatal disorders. Resulting morbidities and sometimes mortality cause a staggering amount of medical and so-cietal costs. Understanding the causes of addiction and underlying neurobiological processes is an active area of research. Most of the current knowledge is derived from preclinical studies and animal models of addiction. The following is a brief review of the mechanisms underlying the addiction process. 2.1 Introduction Substance use disorders are characterized by a chronic remitting and relapsing course. Symptoms of tolerance and withdrawal are characteristics of physical dependence, but maladaptive patterns of behavior are key to the diagnosis of substance use disor-ders. In this chapter we brie fl y review the neurobiology of addictive disorders and for the sake of simplicity, the previously mentioned terms will be used interchangeably. Psychoactive substances act on the neuronal structures and processes that are impor-tant for the regulation of healthy mood, behavior, and motivation. Most of the current understanding of this cause and effect is derived from animal models of addiction. These models have been particularly helpful to demystify mechanisms at the neuronal and synaptic level during the acute phase of drug intake. With advancement in re-search techniques, animal models of chronic drug preference, self-administration, re-ward, cravings, tolerance development, and withdrawal are being developed in order to better understand the neuroadaptive mechanisms underlying long-term use.

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