PSYC30014 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Addiction, Recreational Drug Use, Alcohol Tolerance
18 Jun 2018
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Lecture 8
- Continuum use: experimentation, recreational/social use, regular use/binging,
problematic use:mild to severe
- Tolerance: is a word used describing certain changes in the way the body reacts to a
drug. A person who develops tolerance needs more and more of the drug to get the
same effect as before.
- Withdrawal symptoms: are compensatory reactions in the body that oppose the
primary effects of the drug. Therefore they are the opposite of the effects of the drug.
For example, one effect of heroin is euphoria which is replaced with dysphoria on
withdrawal of the drug.
- Craving: is a psychological urge to administer a discontinued medication or
recreational drug.
- All drugs taken in excess:
- Direct activation of the brain reward system⇒
- Reinforce drug taking behaviours [brain changes in response to taking drugs which⇒
increases urge to take more drugs]
- Produce intense activation of reward system such that normal activities may be ⇒
neglected [Hard to reject impulse]
- Typically produce feelings of pleasure “high”⇒
- Reduce inhibitory control⇒
- Addiction vs Dependence:
- → Drug dependence means that a person needs a drug to function normally.
Dependence can be a normal body response to a substance.
- → Drug addiction - the compulsive use of a substance, despite its negative or
dangerous effects
- → A person may have a physical dependence on a substance without having an
addiction [people with cancer can be treated with morphine or other painkiller can be
dependent on the drug but not addicted, stop using drug → may experience
withdrawal symptoms, but not compulsive users of morphine/painkiller]
- Alcoholism is another way of saying “alcohol dependence”. A person diagnosed with
alcoholism is therefore dependent on alcohol.
- DSM-V criteria:
- Intoxication⇨
- Disorder [associated with drug use]⇨
- Withdrawal⇨
- 2-3 criteria indicate a mild disorder;⇨
- 4-5 criteria, a moderate disorder;⇨
- 6 or more, a severe disorder⇨
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- New additions: Gambling⇨
- Impaired control (Use beyond intention, inability to reduce usage [even if they ⇨
want to reduce usage → they can’t], time taken to obtain, use [takes quite a bit of
time] and recover & cravings)
- Social impairment (Failure to fulfil obligations, use continues despite problems, ⇨
withdrawal from people/activities to use substance)
- Risky use (use in physically hazardous situations, valued activities are abandoned⇨
or reduced)
- Pharmacological (Tolerance and Withdrawal)⇨
- Substance-induced disorders:
- Associated with symptoms that are characteristic of other mental disorders; ↠
- Substance-Induced Delirium↠
- Substance-Induced Persisting Amnestic Disorder↠
- Substance-Induced Psychotic Disorder↠
- Substance-Induced Mood Disorder↠
- Substance-Induced Anxiety Disorder↠
- Substance-Induced Sexual Dysfunction↠
- Substance-Induced Sleep Disorder↠
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
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- 35% of people have tried marijuana in last 12 months
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Continuum use: experimentation, recreational/social use, regular use/binging, problematic use:mild to severe. Tolerance: is a word used describing certain changes in the way the body reacts to a drug. A person who develops tolerance needs more and more of the drug to get the same effect as before. Withdrawal symptoms: are compensatory reactions in the body that oppose the primary effects of the drug. Therefore they are the opposite of the effects of the drug. For example, one effect of heroin is euphoria which is replaced with dysphoria on withdrawal of the drug. Craving: is a psychological urge to administer a discontinued medication or recreational drug. Reinforce drug taking behaviours [brain changes in response to taking drugs which increases urge to take more drugs] Produce intense activation of reward system such that normal activities may be neglected [hard to reject impulse] Drug dependence means that a person needs a drug to function normally.
