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Physical dependence is usually managed by a slow dose reduction over a period of weeks, months or sometimes longer depending on the drug, dose and the individual. [6] A physical dependence on alcohol is often managed with a cross tolerant drug, such as long acting benzodiazepines to manage the alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Substance dependence, also known as drug dependence, is a biopsychological situation whereby an individual's functionality is dependent on the necessitated re-consumption of a psychoactive substance because of an adaptive state that has developed within the individual from psychoactive substance consumption that results in the experience of withdrawal and that necessitates the re-consumption ...
"Substance use pertains to using select substances such as alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs, etc. that can cause dependence or harmful side effects."On the other hand, substance abuse is the use of drugs such as prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, or alcohol for purposes other than what they are intended for or using them in excessive ...
Neuroscientists believe that drug addicts’ behavior is a direct correlation to some physiological change in their brain, caused by using drugs. This view believes there is a bodily function in the brain causing the addiction. This is brought on by a change in the brain caused by brain damage or adaptation from chronic drug use. [1] [2]
This dual meaning persisted in traditional English dictionaries, encompassing both legal surrender and personal devotion to habits. Later, 19th century temperance movements narrowed the definition of addiction to just drug-related disease, ignoring behavioral addictions and the possibility of positive or neutral addictions. This restrictive ...
The latter reflects physical dependence in which the body adapts to the drug, requiring more of it to achieve a certain effect (tolerance) [25] and eliciting drug-specific physical or mental symptoms if drug use is abruptly ceased (withdrawal). Physical dependence can happen with the chronic use of many drugs—including even appropriate ...
Chemistry, not moral failing, accounts for the brain’s unwinding. In the laboratories that study drug addiction, researchers have found that the brain becomes conditioned by the repeated dopamine rush caused by heroin. “The brain is not designed to handle it,” said Dr. Ruben Baler, a scientist with the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
One form of behavioral neuropharmacology focuses on the study of drug dependence and how drug addiction affects the human mind. Most research has shown that the major part of the brain that reinforces addiction through neurochemical reward is the nucleus accumbens. The image to the right shows how dopamine is projected into this area.