The Addicted Brain: Why We Abuse Drugs, Alcohol, and Nicotine (Eiji Yamane's Library) by Michael Kuhar

Author:Michael Kuhar
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: FT Press
Published: 2012-03-24T16:00:00+00:00

This is definitely a message for parents and communities, and it makes young people an important target for prevention efforts.

Drugs Impair Our Judgment and Perpetuate Drug Use

In many ways, drug abusers are among the least capable of stopping drug use. As they become intoxicated, their normal, cognitive and self-regulating abilities become compromised. For example, as they become drunk on alcohol, it becomes more difficult to stop drinking for several reasons. One reason is that the person is less aware of what he or she is doing, and the cognitive function, which is needed to help assess the situation, is impaired. Drug use can impair the function of brain regions such as the orbitofrontal cortex and anterior cingulate gyrus that are involved in judgment, decision making, and inhibition of unwanted activities like drug taking. These impairments contribute to a lack of control, compulsive drug taking, and a general impairment of judgment that favors relapse to drug use. This was shown by Dr. Edythe London and colleagues and others in a gambling task; drug abusers were much more likely to make bad decisions that resulted in long-term losses.4 Taking drugs can make things worse and result in a nasty, downward spiral.

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