addiction Flashcards
describing addiction- physical dependence
-occurs when a withdrawal symptom is produced by stopping
-only possible to establish someone is physically dependent when;
-they abstain from it
-withdrawal symptoms are apparent
describing addiction- psychological dependence
-refers to compulsion to experience effects of a substance for
-increase in pleasure or
-reduction in discomfort
psychological dependence leads to the substance becoming a habit despite harmful consequences
describing addiction- tolerance
-greater doses needed for same effect, this means greater doses needed to produce same effects on behaviour
-tolerance caused by repeated exposure
-behavioural tolerance- learns through experience to adjust their behaviour to compensate for effects of a substance
-cross tolerance- developing tolerance to one substance can reduce sensitivity to another
describing addiction- withdrawal symptoms
-symptoms associated with abstaining or reducing use
-opposite of symptoms created by substance
-indicated physical dependence
-motivation to take substance is partially to avoid these symptoms
-phase1- acute withdrawal within hours, intense cravings
-phase2- prolonged withdrawal over months or years, high sensitivity to cues
risk factors for addiction, 5
1.genetic vulnerability
2.stress
3.personality
4.family influences
5.peers
risk factors in development of addiction- genetic vulnerability
-low dopamine associated with addiction
-low D2 receptors inherited, people compensate by engaging in addictive behaviour
-genetic, environment interaction
-no one can become addicted if not exposed to situation
-someone does not inherit a addiction but a predisposition
risk factors- stress
‘perceived inability to cope’
-increased stress means increased vulnerability to addiction
-maladaptive coping e.g. drinking
-likely that chronic stress or trauma can lead to vulnerability
-stress of quitting or paying for addiction creates more
risk factors- personality
-no generally addictive personality, but most people with APD are addicted substance abusers
-APD means a person breaks social norms, is impulsive and behave criminally to satisfy desires
-almost inevitable they try substances (robins 1998)
risk factors- family influences
-perceived parental approval- pos attitudes towards drug or behaviour such as gambling
-adolescents who perceive parents to have little or more interest in monitoring their behaviour are more likely to develop addiction
-SLT- exposure is also a factor, more likely to start if it is normal part of their everyday
risk factors- peers
-SLT- childhood
O’connell suggested 3 major factors to alcohol addiction;
-attitudes about drinking by associating with peers who drink
-peers provide opportunity
-overestimate how much peers are drinking in attempt to keep up with perceived norm
brain neurochemistry in exp for nicotine addiction
-Dani and Heinemann 1996 focused on dopamine in their desensitisation hypothesis of nicotine addiction
exp for nicotine addiction- brain neurochem- nAChRs and dopamine
-ACh is a key neurotransmitter in the CNS
-one special subtype is nAChR acitvated by ACh or nicotine
-nAChRs are stimulated and transmit dopamine
-then they are immediately shut down and temporarily cannot respond to neurotransmitters
exp for nicotine addiction- brain neurochem-operant conditioning
-creating a pleasurable effect
-nAChRs are concentrated in VTA
-dopamine transmitted along 2 pathways
1.mesolimbic pathway
2.mesocortical pathway
-both release dopamine into frontal cortex
-pleasurable effects due to dopamine reward system become associated with smoking through operant conditioning
exp for nicotine addiction- brain neurochem-withdrawl
-when not smoking e.g. over night nicotine disappears from body and nAChRs become functional again-resensitised and upregulated
-nAChRs now overstimulated by ACh and at their most sensitive
-first cigarette of the day is the best as it strongly activates dopamine reward system
exp for nicotine addiction- brain neurochem-dependence
-unpleasent withdrawl symptoms are avoided by having another cigarette
-this means a constant cycle of daytime downregulation and night time upregulation creating long term desensitisation of nAChRs
exp for nicotine addiction- brain neurochem-tolerance
-continuous exposure to nicotine causes permanent changes to brain neurochemistry
-tolerance develops as smoker needs more nicotine for same effect
exp nicotine addiction- learning theory- operant conditioning- dopamine system
-nicotine stimulates release of dopamine in the mesolimbic pathway, part of dopamine reward system
exp nicotine addiction- learning theory- operant conditioning-pos reinforcement
-if consequence of behaviour is rewarding then the behaviour is more likely to occur again
-smoking nicotine creates feelings of mild euphoria, positively reinforcing the behaviour
exp nicotine addiction- learning theory- operant conditioning-neg reinforcement
-cessation of nicotine can cause withdrawal symptoms ]
e.g. disturbed sleep or mood disturbances
-therefore addiction maintained as it stops the unpleasant stimulus
exp nicotine addiction- learning theory- role of cue reactivity- primary reinforcers
-smoking is intrinsically rewarding (not learned)
-has biologically determined effects on dopamine reward system
-pleasure reinforces the behaviour
exp nicotine addiction- learning theory- role of cue reactivity-secondary reinforcers
-any other stimuli present around the time of smoking become associated with the pleasurable effects of smoking i.e. classical conditioning has taken place
-these stimuli become rewarding in their own right
-environments e.g. pubs or objects e.g. lighter
-even harsh feeling of smoke on back of throat
exp nicotine addiction- learning theory- role of cue reactivity
-secondary reinforcers act as cues because their presence produces similar response to nicotine itself
-this is cue reactivity, indicated by 3 main elements;
1.self reported desire to smoke
2.physiological signs of reactivity to cue e.g. heart rate
3.objective behavioural indicators when cue present e.g. how many draws taken
exp for gambling- LT- part1 vicarious reinforcement
-seeing others being rewarded for gambling
-can also be experienced through media reports of big wins
exp for gambling- LT- part2 direct reinforcement
-person receives direct reinforcement
- pos reinforcement comes from a direct gain e.g. winning money and the buzz that accompanies this
-neg reinforcement occurs because gambling can offer a distraction from aversive stimuli e.g. everyday stress
exp for gambling- LT- part3 partial reinforcement
-more effective then continuous
-in continuous reinforcement, using rats Skinner found that once the reward stopped so did behaviour (extinction)
-partial leads to more persistent behaviour change
-when only some bets are rewarded, unpredictability maintains the addiction
exp for gambling- LT- part4 variable reinforcement
-very resistant to extinction
- a partial reinforcement schedule where there are intervals between rewards
-e.g. slot machine may only pay out on 3rd or 12th spin
-gambler learnsz they will not win every gamble but will eventually win, making this very resistant to extinction
exp for gambling- LT- part5 cue reactivity
-explains how gambling is maintained or reinstated
-experienced gamblers encounter many secondary reinforcers (things they associate with arousal of gambling
-e.g. atmosphere of betting shop, these stimuli are hard to avoid
-maintain and cause reinstatement after period of abstinence
exp for gambling addiction- cog theory- part1 expectations
-people start gambling because they expect benefits to outweigh costs
-some may have unrealistic expectations about how gambling will help them cope with emotions
-distorted expectations lead to addiction
exp for gambling addiction- cog theory- part2 cognitive biases
-maintenance of gambling
-gamblers continue to gambled because of mistaken beliefs about chance and luck (cognitive biases)
-biases influence how gamblers think and what they do or dont pay attention to
exp for gambling addiction- cog theory- part3 categories of cog bias
-Rickwood et al
1.skill and judgement- illusion of control and overestimate their skill
2.personal traits- believe they are especially lucky or engage in superstitious behaviour
3.selective recall-remember wins and forget losses
4.faulty perceptions- distorted views of chance e.g. losing streak cannot last
exp for gambling addiction- cog theory- part4- self efficiency
-refers to expectation we have about our ability to achieve desired outcome
-biased beliefs they are not capable of abstaining permanently
-they expect to relapse so they do
reducing addiction- drug therapy 3 main types
-aversives
-agonists
-antagonists
- all work by changing how person experiences their substance addiction
reducing addiction- drug therapy- aversives
-pair addictive drug with unpleasant consequence
-e.g. vomiting, classical conditioning
e.g disulfram creates effects of severe hangover mins after alcohol drunk
-addict will associate alcohol with unpleasant effects
reducing addiction- drug therapy- agonists
-activate neuron receptors
-produces similar effect to addictive substance, satisfies cravings and controls withdrawals
-e.g. methadone used to treat heroin addicts but has fewer harmful side effects
reducing addiction- drug therapy-antagonists
-block neuron receptors
-prevent effects of substance
-especially prevents euphoria
-e.g. naltrexone used to treat heroin addiction
reducing addiction- drug therapy- smoking NRT
-nicotine replacement therapy
-gum, inhalers or patches
-acts as an agonist
dosage reduced over time
acts as agonist by;
1.activating nAChRs in mesolimbic pathway in brain
2.stimulating release of dopamine in nucleus accumbens just as cigarette does
reducing addiction- drug therapy-gambling opiod antagonist
-taps into same dopamine reward system as heroin and nicotine
-therefore same drugs used
1.enhances release of neurotransmitter GABA in mesolimbic pathway which…
2.reduces release of dopamine in nucleus accumbens which is linked to reduced gambling
reducing addiction- behavioural interventions- aversion therapy
-associates addiction wit unpleasent consequences
-based on classical conditioning
-principle is that addiction can develop through repeated associations between substance and pleasurable state of arousal
-follows that addiction can be reduced by pairing with unpleasant consequence (counterconditioning)
reducing addiction- behavioural interventions- aversion therapy using disulfram
-used to associate alcohol with nausea
-drug is UCS causes vomiting UCR
-through association disulfram and alcohol become conditioned stimuli
-producing conditioned response of vomiting
reducing addiction- behavioural interventions- aversion therapy- electric shocks
-used to associate gambling with pain
-gambler selects phrases that relate to gambling and others that do not
-read out each phrase and whenever a gambling related phrase is read (NS then CS) receive electric shock (UCR then CR) but not distressing
