Lectures 12 & 13 - Addictive Disorders: Alcohol & Drugs Flashcards
What should I know for this topic?
- How psychologists conceptualise and diagnose addiction to alcohol & other substances
- Learning
- Biological/disease
- Socio-economic-cultural
- How psychologists explain the development & maintenance of addiction
- What are the core clinical components & issues for intervention?
What is a drug?
Any substance that exerts an effect on body or mind (prescription, legal and illicit)
What kinds of effects can drugs have? (4)
Provide egs.
- Neurophysiological
- Tachcardia, dilation, respiratory - Behavioural
- Aggression, disinhibition - Emotional
- Euphoria, confidence - Cognitive
- Confusion, memory, paranoid
How are drugs generally classified?
By their induced effect.
Name 6 classifications of drugs.
Although the last one is just like a list of others…
- Depressant (downers)
- Alcohol, barbiturates, inhalants, benzodiazepines, sedatives - Stimulants (uppers)
- Cocaine, amphetamines, caffeine, nicotine, MDA (ecstasy) - Hallucinogen
- Altered perceptions – mescaline, LSD, psilocybin - Opioid/narcotics
- Analgesia – Morphine, heroin, codeine, methadone - Cannabinoids:
- Marijuana, hash, ganja - Tobacco, steroids, volatile solvents, prescription drugs
Routes of drug administration
- Inhalation (most rapid)
- Intravenous
- Oral
FIX CARD
slide 7
Drugs can be viewed as neutral substances but restricted/banned due to their impacts
- Value judged by use & effects
- Alcohol: socially acceptable in moderation
- Tobacco: legal despite nil beneficial effects
- Illicit drugs: varied social/legal condemnation (Netherlands; California, Australia – trials for medical use)
- Prescription drugs: accepted but can be abused
What % of people will sample illicit drugs at least
once?
60%
Name 7 Models of addiction.
West, 2013
- ‘Automatic processing’ (associative learning, drives, inhibitory processes and imitation
- Reflective choice: (conscious decisions to consume after ‘rational’ or ‘biased’ evaluation of costs & benefits)
- Different types of goal (positive reward, acquired & pre-existing needs)
- Integrative theories combining elements of automatic & reflective choice
- Biological theories based on neural mechanisms
- Social network theories
- Economic, marketing (consumption – public health models)
What is meant by ‘addiction’?
- Latin addictio(n-),from addicere ‘to assign’
* Late 16th century (denoting a person’s inclination or proclivity: “tendency,” of habits, pursuits”
Substance related disorders
Covers diagnostic criteria for 10 separate classes of drugs
These are….
- Alcohol
- Hallucinogens
- Opioids
- Hypnotics
- Stimulants
- Cannabis
- Inhalants
- Sedatives
- Anxiolytics
- Tobacco
+ Other
What are the key features of substance addiction? (7)
(WHO,1992; DSM-5; ICD-10; American Society for Addiction Medicine)
**Really important to know!
- Chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory & related circuitry
- Excessive pursuit of reward (+ve reinf.) &/or relief (-ve reinf.)
- Diminished control:
- repeated unsuccessful efforts to reduce or control use
- persistent use despite harmful consequences
- Compulsion/craving
- Salience: focus on use superseding other interests
- Increased tolerance & withdrawal syndrome on discontinuation
- Cycles of relapse & remission common
Outline the 11 items of criteria A (the only criterion) for substance related disorders.
What four categories may these form?
Criterion A
Impaired control (items 1-4)
- Use of amounts or for longer periods than intended
- Repeated unsuccessful attempts to cut back/cease
- Excessive time obtaining drug or recovery from use
- Craving
Social impairment (5-7)
› Failure to meet obligations: Home, work, school
› Social & interpersonal problems
› Social, occupational or recreational activities reduced
Risky use (8-9) › Use in physically hazardous situations › Persistence despite awareness of physical or psychological problems exacerbated by use
Pharmacological (10-11) (Indicative of neuro-adaptation)
• Tolerance
• Withdrawal
FIX CARD
Outline the Choice theory of addiction.
(West, 2006)
~30 mins into lecture
FIX CARD
*Debate
Habit (choice) versus addiction (impaired control): Debate exists over nature & even existence of addiction (Dalrymple, 2006)
FIX CARD
l *Slide 19
› Neurotransmitter disrupted volition = 19th Century disease of the will
› Neurobiology not destiny: capacity for choice affected but not destroyed
*Slide 20
Addiction & dependence often used interchangeably: no consensus on definition & distinction
Physiological dependence:
Associated with physical symptoms of tolerance & withdrawal on cessation
Psychological addiction/dependence:
Cravings/desire leading to repetitive (compulsive) use
What are some common barriers to successful treatment?
- Psychiatric comorbidity,
- Acute or chronic cognitive deficits
- Medical problems
- Social stressors
- Lack of social resources
Which 3 areas of the brain do drugs of dependence work on?
Slide 35
- Basal ganglia: Reward & formation of habitual use
- Extended amygdala: Irritability, anxiety & withdrawal (fight-flight stress reactions)
- Prefrontal cortex: Decision-making/control
Which 2 (neuro) systems do drugs of dependence work on?
Slide 35
1) The dopaminergic system
2) The endogenous opioid system
*West, 2006
slide 19
Choice theory of addiction
*
Chen & Jacobson, 2012
Developmental trajectories of substance use
What are the Recommended Levels of Standard drinks ?
Answer for both men and women standard drinks daily, and associated risk factor.
Slide 22
Low Risk:
Female: 2 or less Male: 4 or less
Hazardous:
Female: 3-4 Male: 5-6
Harmful
Female: 5+ Male: 7+
*slide 23
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