Week 12 - Addiction development, prevention and treatment

Question 1

Is there any genetic basis to addiction?

Answer 1

Yes; an individual’s susceptibility to addiction tends to be proportional to the degree of genetic relationship to a relative with addiction

Question 2

What is the SLC6A3 gene?

Answer 2

The dopamine transporter gene

Question 3

What biological substance is increased by stressful experiences and may contribute to addiction?

Answer 3

deltaFosB

Question 4

What is meant by the concept of self medication for distress?

Answer 4

That individuals may take drugs or engage in rewarding activities to relieve unpleasant physical or mental states

Question 5

What are the five major traits that an individual’s personality may be characterised according to?

Answer 5

• Extroversion
• Agreeableness
• Openness to experience
• Neuroticism
• Conscientiousness

Question 6

Of the five major personality traits, which is the one that appears to be more common amongst people with an addiction?

Answer 6

Neuroticism

Question 7

Of these two groups, who are at higher risk of drug abuse - inidividuals who are very knowledgeable about drugs and the general population (including other medical professionals)?

Answer 7

Those who are very knowledgeable about drugs (eg nurse anaesthetists and anaesthesiologists)

Question 8

What is the name of the initiative used in schools appears to reduce the risk of addiction later in life?

Answer 8

The Good Behaviour Game

Question 9

Why might the Good Behaviour Game reduce the risk of addiction later in life?

Answer 9

• Encourages rule abiding behaviour
• Shows clear consequences when rules are broken
• Focuses on teamwork to complete a task, which may reduce social isolation

Question 10

What might some of the limitations of the Good Behaviour Game be in terms of prevention of addiction in later life?

Answer 10

• It does not specifically address drugs or addictive behaviours
• Not every child is in school daily and those who aren’t may be more vulnerable

Question 11

Now that drugs have been decriminalised in Portugal, what happens if a person is found in posession of small quantities of a drug?

Answer 11

They are referred to the Commission for the Dissuasion of Drug Abuse, then on to receive help from legal, health and social work professionals

Question 12

Thus far, what are the five observations that have been made since Portugal decriminalised drugs?

Answer 12

• A small increase in drug use by adults
• Reduced drug use in some adolescents
• Reduced burden on the criminal justice system
• Increased usage of drug treatment programmes
• Reduced opiod-related deaths

Question 13

What is meant by the term harm reduction?

Answer 13

Practices or health policies that aim to reduce the dangers of a particular behaviour

Question 14

What are examples of harm reduction initiatives with regards to drug use?

Answer 14

• Supply of clean needles
• Naloxone
• Pricing and taxation
• Regulation of advertising

Question 15

Are opiods agonists or antagonists?

Answer 15

Agonists

Question 16

What is an example of recovery from addiction but without treatment?

Answer 16

Court-ordered random/scheduled drug or alcohol tests, failure of which may have threat of incarceration

Question 17

Is a short-term, one-off treatment for drug addiction likely to be successful?

Answer 17

No

Question 18

What is the name for the model of stages of change in an individual?

Answer 18

The transtheoretical model

Question 19

What is meant by the term contingency management therapy?

Answer 19

It is a type of therapy that offers incentives or rewards to addicted individuals for meeting
specific behaviour goals

Question 20

How does the gain of a reward differ between Pavlovian conditioning and operant conditioning?

Answer 20

In Pavlovian conditioning, a reward always follows a conditioned stimulus, regardless of behaviour.
During operant conditioning, an action needs to be performed in order to receive a reward

Question 21

What might be an example of contingency management therapy?

Answer 21

Someone receiving money as a reward for a negative drug test

Question 22

What is meant by the term therapeutic community?

Answer 22

A group-based approach to the treatment of long-term mental health problems

Question 23

What well-known organisations are an examples of a therapeutic community?

Answer 23

• Alcoholics Anonymous
• Gamblers Anonymous
• Narcotics Anonymous

Question 24

Where does the mesolimbic pathway originate and end?

Answer 24

Originates in the ventral tegmental area and ends in the nucleus accumbens

Question 25

Where does the mesocortical pathway originate and end?

Answer 25

Originates in the ventral tegmental area and ends in the prefrontal cortex

Question 26

What are the names of the two neuronal pathways which are involved in addiction?

Answer 26

• Mesolimbic pathway
• Mesocortical pathway