🧠 Neurobiology of Addiction
This brain chemical floods the reward pathway during drug use, reinforcing the behavior.
What is dopamine?
This European country decriminalized drugs and saw a drop in deaths.
These countries have some of the lowest addiction rates worldwide.
These are the three main domains of the biopsychosocial model.
→ What are biological, psychological, and social?
A lapse is different from relapse in this key way.
→ What is it’s a brief or one-time use, not a full return to old patterns?
This U.S. agency enforces the Controlled Substances Act.
→ What is the DEA?
This is the stage of addiction where the user feels reduced energy and mood disturbances.
What is withdrawal and negative affect?
These countries have some of the lowest addiction rates worldwide.
→ What are Japan, Iceland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Sweden?
A trauma-informed assessment assumes this unless ruled out.
→ What is trauma?
These three phases describe the process of relapse.
→ What are emotional, mental, and physical?
Cannabis is still federally listed under this drug schedule.
→ What is Schedule I?
Over time, this natural motivator system in the brain becomes desensitized due to chronic drug use.
What is the reward system?
The opioid epidemic in this country has been linked to overprescription and fentanyl
→ What is the United States?
This domain includes housing instability, relationships, and culture.
→ What is the social domain?
These decisions may seem minor but can lead to relapse.
→ What are seemingly unimportant decisions (SUDs)?
This scandal involved the FDA approving a drug that later caused 60,000 deaths.
→ What is the Vioxx scandal?
Cravings can be triggered by these learned environmental cues, even years into sobriety.
What are conditioned stimuli (or cues)?
This region struggles with methamphetamine surges.
→ What is Southeast Asia?
These types of tools help screen and assess for substance use severity.
→ What are ASI, AUDIT, and DAST?
This hormone increases during stress and raises relapse risk.
→ What is cortisol?
This federal law requires parity for mental health and substance use treatment in insurance coverage.
→ What is the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act?
These three stages define the addiction cycle in neurobiology.
What are binge/intoxication, withdrawal/negative affect, and preoccupation/craving?
This Latin American crop contributes to global cocaine production.
→ What is coca (or the cocaine plant)?
This approach focuses on strengths, resilience, and context over pathology.
→ What is a strengths-based perspective?
This brain area, when impaired, reduces self-control in addiction.
→ What is the prefrontal cortex?
This international body coordinates cross-border drug policy efforts.
→ What is the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)?