Pathways of Addiction
Pathways of Addiction

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1996-11-01

Total Pages: 330

ISBN-13: 0309055334

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Drug abuse persists as one of the most costly and contentious problems on the nation's agenda. Pathways of Addiction meets the need for a clear and thoughtful national research agenda that will yield the greatest benefit from today's limited resources. The committee makes its recommendations within the public health framework and incorporates diverse fields of inquiry and a range of policy positions. It examines both the demand and supply aspects of drug abuse. Pathways of Addiction offers a fact-filled, highly readable examination of drug abuse issues in the United States, describing findings and outlining research needs in the areas of behavioral and neurobiological foundations of drug abuse. The book covers the epidemiology and etiology of drug abuse and discusses several of its most troubling health and social consequences, including HIV, violence, and harm to children. Pathways of Addiction looks at the efficacy of different prevention interventions and the many advances that have been made in treatment research in the past 20 years. The book also examines drug treatment in the criminal justice setting and the effectiveness of drug treatment under managed care. The committee advocates systematic study of the laws by which the nation attempts to control drug use and identifies the research questions most germane to public policy. Pathways of Addiction provides a strategic outline for wise investment of the nation's research resources in drug abuse. This comprehensive and accessible volume will have widespread relevanceâ€"to policymakers, researchers, research administrators, foundation decisionmakers, healthcare professionals, faculty and students, and concerned individuals.

Facing Addiction in America
Facing Addiction in America

Author: Office of the Surgeon General

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2017-08-15

Total Pages: 420

ISBN-13: 9781974580620

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All across the United States, individuals, families, communities, and health care systems are struggling to cope with substance use, misuse, and substance use disorders. Substance misuse and substance use disorders have devastating effects, disrupt the future plans of too many young people, and all too often, end lives prematurely and tragically. Substance misuse is a major public health challenge and a priority for our nation to address. The effects of substance use are cumulative and costly for our society, placing burdens on workplaces, the health care system, families, states, and communities. The Report discusses opportunities to bring substance use disorder treatment and mainstream health care systems into alignment so that they can address a person's overall health, rather than a substance misuse or a physical health condition alone or in isolation. It also provides suggestions and recommendations for action that everyone-individuals, families, community leaders, law enforcement, health care professionals, policymakers, and researchers-can take to prevent substance misuse and reduce its consequences.

Dispelling the Myths About Addiction
Dispelling the Myths About Addiction

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1997-11-10

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13: 0309174597

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Every year about half a million men, women, and children in the United States die from the effects of using nicotine, alcohol, and illegal drugs: one of every four American deaths. Yet research to solve this terrible problem is often perceived as less important than other types of biomedical investigation. Focusing on four major classes of drugs with the greatest social and economic impactâ€"nicotine, alcohol, opioids, and stimulantsâ€"Dispelling the Myths About Addiction examines what is known about addiction and what is needed to develop a talented cadre of investigators and to educate the public about addiction research. The committee explores these areas: Economic costs of addiction. What has been learned about addiction from research into basic neurobiology and the brain, psychosocial and behavioral factors, and epidemiology. Education and training of researchers and the research infrastructure. Public perceptions and their impact on public policy in this field. This volume outlines the challenges and opportunities in addiction research today and makes recommendations to educators, treatment professionals, public and private institutions, and others for how to build support for addiction research and treatment.

Opiate Receptors, Neurotransmitters, and Drug Dependence
Opiate Receptors, Neurotransmitters, and Drug Dependence

Author: Barry Stimmel

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-06-03

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 1317840828

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Experts address the role of neuromodulators and opiate receptors in alcohol and drug dependence. They present innovative research techniques, new discoveries, and possible clinical correlates that allow for a much greater understanding of the clinical phenomena surrounding alcohol and narcotic use. Included in this thought-provoking volume are a comprehensive review of the current knowledge of the endogenous opiates, their interactions with the opiate receptors, and the potential relationship that these substances might have in promoting the development of dependence, tolerance, and withdrawal; the translation of the basic physiologic findings occuring during withdrawal to treatment of withdrawal symptoms in the clinical setting; and a physiological explanation for the rationale of using clonidine and naltrexone to accelaerate the detoxification process without undue discomfort.

Alcohol and Opiates
Alcohol and Opiates

Author: Kenneth Blum

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2012-12-02

Total Pages: 430

ISBN-13: 0323150802

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Alcohol and Opiates: Neurochemical and Behavioral Mechanisms contains the proceedings of the 1976 conference, ""The Neurochemical and Behavioral Mechanisms of Alcohol and Opiate Dependence"", held in New York. The papers focus on the commonalities and distinctions of alcohol and opiates in terms of neurochemical and behavioral mechanisms. It also highlights key research findings on alcohol and drug dependence as well as advances in the understanding of opiate neurochemistry and the nature of alcoholism. Organized into two sections comprised of 22 chapters, this compilation begins with an overview of the various techniques used to produce and to measure alcohol dependence using animal models. It then discusses the neurochemical components of ethanol dependence, the pharmacogenetics of alcoholism, and the effects of alcohol on behavioral performance. The remaining chapters examine the pharmacology of isoquinoline alkaloids and ethanol interactions, the neurochemical aspects of opiate dependence, the pharmocological heterogeneity of narcotic receptors, and the pharmacology of endogenous opiate-like peptides. The book also introduces the reinforcement of behavior by morphine injections and the metabolic stereospecificity of opiate agonist and antagonist drugs. It concludes with an assessment of future research directions concerning opioid peptides (endorphins). This book is a valuable source of information for those seeking to build clinical programs designed to alleviate the sociological and medical ills associated with alcohol and opiate abuse and drug dependency.

Magnesium in the Central Nervous System
Magnesium in the Central Nervous System

Author: Robert Vink

Publisher: University of Adelaide Press

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 0987073052

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The brain is the most complex organ in our body. Indeed, it is perhaps the most complex structure we have ever encountered in nature. Both structurally and functionally, there are many peculiarities that differentiate the brain from all other organs. The brain is our connection to the world around us and by governing nervous system and higher function, any disturbance induces severe neurological and psychiatric disorders that can have a devastating effect on quality of life. Our understanding of the physiology and biochemistry of the brain has improved dramatically in the last two decades. In particular, the critical role of cations, including magnesium, has become evident, even if incompletely understood at a mechanistic level. The exact role and regulation of magnesium, in particular, remains elusive, largely because intracellular levels are so difficult to routinely quantify. Nonetheless, the importance of magnesium to normal central nervous system activity is self-evident given the complicated homeostatic mechanisms that maintain the concentration of this cation within strict limits essential for normal physiology and metabolism. There is also considerable accumulating evidence to suggest alterations to some brain functions in both normal and pathological conditions may be linked to alterations in local magnesium concentration. This book, containing chapters written by some of the foremost experts in the field of magnesium research, brings together the latest in experimental and clinical magnesium research as it relates to the central nervous system. It offers a complete and updated view of magnesiums involvement in central nervous system function and in so doing, brings together two main pillars of contemporary neuroscience research, namely providing an explanation for the molecular mechanisms involved in brain function, and emphasizing the connections between the molecular changes and behavior. It is the untiring efforts of those magnesium researchers who have dedicated their lives to unraveling the mysteries of magnesiums role in biological systems that has inspired the collation of this volume of work.

Methods of Behavior Analysis in Neuroscience
Methods of Behavior Analysis in Neuroscience

Author: Jerry J. Buccafusco

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2000-08-29

Total Pages: 341

ISBN-13: 1420041819

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Using the most well-studied behavioral analyses of animal subjects to promote a better understanding of the effects of disease and the effects of new therapeutic treatments on human cognition, Methods of Behavior Analysis in Neuroscience provides a reference manual for molecular and cellular research scientists in both academia and the pharmaceutic

Addiction
Addiction

Author: David Nutt

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2013-09-26

Total Pages: 102

ISBN-13: 0199685703

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An essential reference for psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, trainees, and specialist nurses, as well as primary care physicians/GPs with a special interest in mental health conditions and other healthcare professionals.

The Addicted Brain
The Addicted Brain

Author: Michael J. Kuhar

Publisher: FT Press

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 237

ISBN-13: 0132542501

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"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.