Download or read book The Addicted Brain written by Michael J. Kuhar and published by FT Press. This book was released on 2012 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Addicted Brain" explains clearly and vividly what has been learned about how and why some people become addicted and abuse drugs or other substances, the relatively long-term changes these substances can make in the brain, and the progress being made on treatments.
Download or read book Memoirs of an Addicted Brain written by Marc Lewis and published by Doubleday Canada. This book was released on 2011-10-04 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A gripping, ultimately triumphant memoir that's also the most comprehensive and comprehensible study of the neuroscience of addiction written for the general public. FROM THE INTRODUCTION: "We are prone to a cycle of craving what we don't have, finding it, using it up or losing it, and then craving it all the more. This cycle is at the root of all addictions, addictions to drugs, sex, love, cigarettes, soap operas, wealth, and wisdom itself. But why should this be so? Why are we desperate for what we don't have, or can't have, often at great cost to what we do have, thereby risking our peace and contentment, our safety, and even our lives?" The answer, says Dr. Marc Lewis, lies in the structure and function of the human brain. Marc Lewis is a distinguished neuroscientist. And, for many years, he was a drug addict himself, dependent on a series of dangerous substances, from LSD to heroin. His narrative moves back and forth between the often dark, compellingly recounted story of his relationship with drugs and a revelatory analysis of what was going on in his brain. He shows how drugs speak to the brain - which is designed to seek rewards and soothe pain - in its own language. He shows in detail the neural mechanics of a variety of powerful drugs and of the onset of addiction, itself a distortion of normal perception. Dr. Lewis freed himself from addiction and ended up studying it. At the age of 30 he traded in his pharmaceutical supplies for the life of a graduate student, eventually becoming a professor of developmental psychology, and then of neuroscience - his field for the last 12 years. This is the story of his journey, seen from the inside out.
Download or read book Never Enough written by Judith Grisel and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2019-02-19 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From a renowned behavioral neuroscientist and recovering addict, a rare page-turning work of science that draws on personal insights to reveal how drugs work, the dangerous hold they can take on the brain, and the surprising way to combat today's epidemic of addiction. Judith Grisel was a daily drug user and college dropout when she began to consider that her addiction might have a cure, one that she herself could perhaps discover by studying the brain. Now, after twenty-five years as a neuroscientist, she shares what she and other scientists have learned about addiction, enriched by captivating glimpses of her personal journey. In Never Enough, Grisel reveals the unfortunate bottom line of all regular drug use: there is no such thing as a free lunch. All drugs act on the brain in a way that diminishes their enjoyable effects and creates unpleasant ones with repeated use. Yet they have their appeal, and Grisel draws on anecdotes both comic and tragic from her own days of using as she limns the science behind the love of various drugs, from marijuana to alcohol, opiates to psychedelics, speed to spice. With more than one in five people over the age of fourteen addicted, drug abuse has been called the most formidable health problem worldwide, and Grisel delves with compassion into the science of this scourge. She points to what is different about the brains of addicts even before they first pick up a drink or drug, highlights the changes that take place in the brain and behavior as a result of chronic using, and shares the surprising hidden gifts of personality that addiction can expose. She describes what drove her to addiction, what helped her recover, and her belief that a “cure” for addiction will not be found in our individual brains but in the way we interact with our communities. Set apart by its color, candor, and bell-clear writing, Never Enough is a revelatory look at the roles drugs play in all of our lives and offers crucial new insight into how we can solve the epidemic of abuse.
Download or read book Mastering the Addicted Brain written by Walter Ling, MD and published by New World Library. This book was released on 2017-07-10 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For anyone trying to overcome an addiction, living with someone with an addiction, or helping someone with an addiction As most drug and alcohol addicts eventually realize, good intentions alone aren’t enough to break destructive habits. However, addiction can be managed once its true nature is understood. This simple yet profound guidebook takes you step-by-step through the process of building a life after addiction by adopting new behaviors that create lasting change. An internationally renowned psychiatrist, neurologist, and addiction specialist, Dr. Walter Ling has worked with thousands of addicts, their loved ones, and fellow clinicians. His no-nonsense, no-judgment approach, which he calls the “neuroscience of common sense,” advocates holistic methods to prevent relapse and establish new patterns to create a sustainable, meaningful life.
Download or read book The Addictive Brain written by and published by . This book was released on with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Caffeine and nicotine are two of the most common psychoactive drugs in our society. How do they work? How dangerous are they? After reviewing how each of these drugs affects the brain - and why nicotine in particular is so addictive - Professor Polk offers several strategies to quit tobacco use.
Download or read book Healing the Addicted Brain written by Harold Urschel and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2009-04-01 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York Times Bestseller! "New, scientifically-based approaches that recognize the biological basis of addiction have brought major advances in the treatment of addiction. Dr. Urschel is at the forefront of this treatment paradigm." Dr. Larry Hanselka, Psychologist The Proven Scientific Approach to Conquering Addiction and Defeating the Disease Healing the Addicted Brain is a breakthrough work that focuses on treating drug and alcohol addiction as a biological disease—based on the Recovery Science program that has helped thousands of patients defeat their addictions over the past 10 years. It combines the best behavioral addiction treatments with the latest scientific research into brain functions, providing tools and strategies designed to overcome the biological factors that cause addictive behavior along with proven treatments and medications. Using this scientific approach, you will learn to conquer the physical factors that keep people tied to drug and alcohol addiction. The proven fact is addiction is not a moral failing or an issue of not having enough willpower. It is a disease of the brain that can and must be treated like other chronic medical illnesses —such as diabetes, hypertension, or asthma—in order to defeat the disease. This revolutionary program can triple the success rate of patients, from 20-30% to 90% There Is Hope. By understanding addiction and using 21st-century breakthroughs, for the first time drug and alcohol addiction can be, and will be, defeated.
Download or read book Drugs Addiction and the Brain written by George F. Koob and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2014-07-12 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drugs, Addiction, and the Brain explores the molecular, cellular, and neurocircuitry systems in the brain that are responsible for drug addiction. Common neurobiological elements are emphasized that provide novel insights into how the brain mediates the acute rewarding effects of drugs of abuse and how it changes during the transition from initial drug use to compulsive drug use and addiction. The book provides a detailed overview of the pathophysiology of the disease. The information provided will be useful for neuroscientists in the field of addiction, drug abuse treatment providers, and undergraduate and postgraduate students who are interested in learning the diverse effects of drugs of abuse on the brain. - Full-color circuitry diagrams of brain regions implicated in each stage of the addiction cycle - Actual data figures from original sources illustrating key concepts and findings - Introduction to basic neuropharmacology terms and concepts - Introduction to numerous animal models used to study diverse aspects of drug use. - Thorough review of extant work on the neurobiology of addiction
Download or read book Unbroken Brain written by Maia Szalavitz and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2016-04-05 with total page 349 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER More people than ever before see themselves as addicted to, or recovering from, addiction, whether it be alcohol or drugs, prescription meds, sex, gambling, porn, or the internet. But despite the unprecedented attention, our understanding of addiction is trapped in unfounded 20th century ideas, addiction as a crime or as brain disease, and in equally outdated treatment. Challenging both the idea of the addict's "broken brain" and the notion of a simple "addictive personality," The New York Times Bestseller, Unbroken Brain, offers a radical and groundbreaking new perspective, arguing that addictions are learning disorders and shows how seeing the condition this way can untangle our current debates over treatment, prevention and policy. Like autistic traits, addictive behaviors fall on a spectrum -- and they can be a normal response to an extreme situation. By illustrating what addiction is, and is not, the book illustrates how timing, history, family, peers, culture and chemicals come together to create both illness and recovery- and why there is no "addictive personality" or single treatment that works for all. Combining Maia Szalavitz's personal story with a distillation of more than 25 years of science and research,Unbroken Brain provides a paradigm-shifting approach to thinking about addiction. Her writings on radical addiction therapies have been featured in The Washington Post, Vice Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times, in addition to multiple other publications. She has been interviewed about her book on many radio shows including Fresh Air with Terry Gross and The Brian Lehrer show.
Download or read book The Biology of Desire written by Marc Lewis and published by PublicAffairs. This book was released on 2015-07-14 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Through the vivid, true stories of five people who journeyed into and out of addiction, a renowned neuroscientist explains why the "disease model" of addiction is wrong and illuminates the path to recovery. The psychiatric establishment and rehab industry in the Western world have branded addiction a brain disease. But in The Biology of Desire, cognitive neuroscientist and former addict Marc Lewis makes a convincing case that addiction is not a disease, and shows why the disease model has become an obstacle to healing. Lewis reveals addiction as an unintended consequence of the brain doing what it's supposed to do-seek pleasure and relief-in a world that's not cooperating. As a result, most treatment based on the disease model fails. Lewis shows how treatment can be retooled to achieve lasting recovery. This is enlightening and optimistic reading for anyone who has wrestled with addiction either personally or professionally.
Download or read book Drugs Brains and Behavior written by and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Hijacking the Brain written by Louis Teresi, MD and published by Author House. This book was released on 2011-10 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hijacking the Brain provides the first-ever scientific explanation for the success of Twelve-Step programs. Hijacking the Brain examines data provided by recent rapid growth in the fields of neuroscience, neuroimaging, psychology, sociobiology and interpersonal neurobiology that have given us new, dramatic insights into the neural and hormonal correlates of stress and addiction, cognitive decline with addiction, as well as for the relative success of Twelve-Step Programs of recovery. Addiction is recognized by experts as an organic brain disease, and most experts promote Twelve-Step programs (AA, NA, CA, etc.) which invoke a 'spiritual solution' for recovery. To date, no one has described why these programs work. 'Hijack' tells us why. In 'Hijack, ' the role of 'working The Steps' for reducing stress and becoming emotionally centered is discussed in depth. A full chapter is devoted to the rewarding and comforting physiology of meditation and the spiritual experience. The author uses examples from animal sociobiology, as well as sophisticated human brain-imaging studies, to demonstrate that empathic socialization and altruism are instinctive and 'naturally rewarding' and, along with Step Work, act as a substitute for the 'synthetic rewards' of drugs of abuse. 'Hijack' does not challenge the Steps or the Traditions of Twelve-Step programs. The sole intention of Hijacking the Brain is to 'connect the dots' between an 'organic brain disease' and a 'spiritual solution' with sound physical, scientific evidence. Avoiding strict scientific language as much as possible, 'Hijack' is written for the layperson and abundantly illustrated.
Download or read book Hijacked Brains written by Henrietta Robin Barnes, MD and published by Dartmouth College Press. This book was released on 2015-01-06 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book, written from the perspective of a practicing primary care physician, interweaves patientsÕ stories with fascinating new brain research to show how addictive drugs overtake basic brain functions and transform them to create a chronic illness that is very difficult to treat. The idea that drug and alcohol addiction are chronic illnesses and not character flaws is not newsÑthis notion has been around for many years. What Hijacked Brains offers is context and personal stories that demonstrate this point in a very accessible package. Dr. Barnes explores how the healthy brain works, how addictive drugs flood basic reward pathways, and what it feels like to grapple with addiction. She discusses how, for individuals, the combination of genetic and environmental factors determines both vulnerability for addiction and the resilience necessary for recovery. Finally, she shows how American culture, with its emphasis on freewill and individualism, tends to blame the addict for bad choices and personal weakness, thereby impeding political and/or health-related efforts to get the addict what she needs to recover.
Download or read book The Selfish Brain written by Robert L DuPont and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2010-09-28 with total page 648 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Selfish Brain explains how individuals and communities are affected by drugs such as alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, and heroin, and how treatment can lead to whole healthy, lives. Why is the brain so vulnerable to the effects of alcohol and other drugs? How does addiction echo through families, cultures, and history? What is it that families and communities do to promote or prevent addiction?These are some of the questions that this thorough, thoughtful, and well-reasoned book answers--in clear, comprehensible terms. From the basics of brain chemistry to the workings of particular drugs such as alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, and heroin, The Selfish Brain explains how individuals and communities become trapped in destructive habits--and how various treatments and approaches lead to recovery and whole, healthy lives.
Download or read book Overload written by David K. Miller and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the groundbreaking work, Miller ad Blum provide an in-depth picture of what attention deficit hyperactivity disorder really looks like, why people self-medicate with mood-altering substances, and how this leads to addiction. Miller and Blum also offer possible solutions for escaping the deadly spiral that entraps those unfortunate enough to be afflicted by both illnesses. The book contains Millers poignant and enlightening first-person account of his battle with ADHD and alcohol, as well as case studies that highlight other problems associated with the disorder. Providing the right balance of scientific information, Blum analyzes genetic influences, brain chemistry, and behavioral reactions to give a full picture of ADHD and addiction.
Download or read book Alcohol and the Addictive Brain written by Kenneth Blum and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2010-06-15 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An understanding of the nature and progression of alcohol addiction has emerged: alcoholism as the result of an imbalance in the brain's natural production of neurotransmitters critical to our sense of wellbeing. This imbalance, which an increasing amount of evidence is demonstrating to be genetically influenced, produces a craving temporarily satisfied by drinking. Alcohol and the Addictive Brain is an account of the scientific discoveries concerning alcoholism.
Download or read book Neural Mechanisms of Addiction written by Mary Torregrossa and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2018-08-24 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Neural Mechanisms of Addiction is the only book available that synthesizes the latest research in the field into a single, accessible resource covering all aspects of how addiction develops and persists in the brain. The book summarizes our most recent understanding on the neural mechanisms underlying addiction. It also examines numerous biobehavioral aspects of addiction disorders, such as reinforcement learning, reward, cognitive dysfunction, stress, and sleep and circadian rhythms that are not covered in any other publication. Readers with find the most up-to-date information on which to build a foundation for their future research in this expanding field. Combining chapters from leading researchers and thought leaders, this book is an indispensable guide for students and investigators engaged in addiction research. - Transcends multiple neural, neurochemical and behavioral domains - Summarizes advances in the field of addiction research since the advent of optogenetics - Discusses the most current, leading theories of addiction, including molecular mechanisms and dopamine mechanisms
Download or read book The Thirteenth Step written by Markus Heilig and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2015-05-12 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The past thirty years have witnessed a revolution in the science of addiction, yet we still rely on outdated methods of treatment. Expensive new programs for managing addiction are also flourishing, but since they are not based in science, they offer little benefit to people who cannot afford to lose money or faith in their recovery. Clarifying the cutting-edge science of addiction for both practitioners and general readers, The Thirteenth Step pairs stories of real patients with explanations of key concepts relating to their illness. A police chief who disappears on the job illustrates the process through which a drug can trigger the brain circuits mediating relapse. One person's effort to find a burrito shack in a foreign city illuminates the reward prediction error signaled by the brain chemical dopamine. With these examples and more, this volume paints a vivid, readable portrait of drug seeking, escalation, and other aspects of addiction and suggests science-based treatments that promise to improve troubling relapse rates. Merging science and human experience, The Thirteenth Step offers compassionate, valuable answers to anyone who hopes for a better handle on a confounding disease.
