UNDERSTANDING ADDICTION

ADRF believes that scientific understanding is central to meeting the growing challenges of addiction.  As we support research that furthers the scientific study of addiction, simultaneously, we strive to improve treatment for those suffering from addiction and educate about the individual and societal dangers of addiction.

Addiction is a chronic disease characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use that is difficult to control, despite its negative consequences.  While an initial decision to consume is typically voluntary, repeated drug use can lead to changes in the brain that challenge an addicted person’s ability to resist intense urges.  These changes in the brain can be persistent, which makes it possible for people to relapse, even after years of sobriety.

As with other chronic diseases, addiction treatments are effective when they are ongoing and adjust to the patients changing needs.  Treatments must also be available and affordable at a time when opioid addiction, for example, has become a national crisis.

The Science of Addiction

Most drugs flood the brain with the chemical messenger, dopamine, which causes an intensely pleasurable high. As users continue to consume the drug, the brain adjusts by making less of its own dopamine or reducing the ability of cells that respond to it. This brain change results in a person needing to consume more and more to achieve the original high. The brain change also makes it more difficult for them to achieve pleasure from other things they once enjoyed, such as food, social activities, or relationships.

Addictions are complex diseases, influenced by biology, environments, and development. Genetics, accounts for half of a person’s risk for addiction. Things like gender, ethnicity and mental disorders may also influence the risk of addiction. Environmental factors, such as family and friends, quality of life, peer pressure, physical and sexual abuse, stress, and parental guidance can also greatly impact a person’s likelihood of drug use and addiction. Finally, drug addictions are more likely take hold in a person’s brain at different stages of brain development. Adolescents who use addictive substances are more likely to become addicted later in life because they first started using while their brain was not completely developed.

As a chronic disease, there is not a cure for addiction, but advances in science and psychology are helping people to deal with their addictions in effective and lasting ways. Importantly, drug addictions are preventable — education programs in schools, communities, and the media are powerful tools in the prevention of addiction.

Brain scans showing that repeated exposure to drugs depletes the brain's dopamine receptors, which are critical for one's ability to experience pleasure and reward.
A neuro-imaging study of meth abusers showed partial recovery of brain function in some regions following protracted abstinence, associated with improved performance on motor and verbal memory tests. However, function in other regions did not display recovery even after two years of abstinence, indicating that some meth-induced changes are much longer lasting.

The Science of Recovery

Recovery and sobriety require a multifaceted approach, including a combination of medical and behavioral treatments.

Medical treatments are especially important in dealing with withdrawal periods and relapse prevention. A 2014 study (SAMHSA) found that medications that lessen withdrawal symptoms, and enable a successful detoxification, are used in 80 percent of detoxifications. Medications that prevent relapses in opioid, tobacco, and alcohol users, help to reestablish normal brain functions and decrease cravings. There are multiple medications to these addictions — each works in a slightly different way to lessen cravings and help users become more open to behavioral treatments.

Medical treatments can also be effective in treating co-occurring conditions, such as anxiety, depression, and other mental disorders.

Currently, medical treatments do not exists for recovery from stimulant (cocaine and methamphetamine) and cannabis addictions. We are proud to fund research that is helping scientists to develop medications to prevent relapses in these addictions.