Another shot. One puff, one eclair, one cup of coffee ... We are sure that we can stop at any moment, we just need to turn on willpower. But even if you manage to slow down for a while, after a break, the addiction only gains momentum. Sooner or later, all addicts come to this sad conclusion - free cheese is only in a mousetrap. From the book you will learn: how the “dependent” brain differs from the usual one, what changes in the brain and behavior occur as a result of regular use of psychoactive substances, and what latent personality forces are able to defeat addiction. In this heartfelt book, Judith Grisel, a retired addict and renowned neuroscientist, explains the role drugs play in our lives and shows us a completely new way of coping with abuse.
An excerpt. Homeostasis
So, the central nervous system serves not only as a sensor, a contrast detector and a dispatcher for responding to perturbations in the environment; it also perfectly knows how to adapt to the input signals, while changing at the same time. The brain's ability to dynamically respond to environmental stimuli and even anticipate them (more on that below) is its most remarkable facet.
Neuroscientists call the brain's ability to modify plasticity, and this ability is now being actively explored. Constant changes in response to signals from the environment are called learning, and all creatures with a central nervous system, from cockroaches to the Dalai Lama, can learn. Memories bear on themselves, as it were, the "stamp" of teaching, its traces and echoes; they helped Johnny (who, you remember, "got the rifle") out of the nightmarish boredom of his helpless mind, while the body was lying on the hospital bed. In addition, it can be said that memories are the neurological cause of addiction.
Addiction education begins with the very first drug intake. Therefore, anyone who has ever tried a drug could assess what the adaptive abilities of the brain are. Adaptation begins immediately and, for example, leads to insomnia after drinking alcohol, and also causes the general discomfort characteristic of a hangover coming the next morning. These "response" states arise because the brain cells that counteract the relaxing effect that occurs after several stacks are more excited than usual. Therefore, the day after a binge, ordinary lighting seems to be too bright, and the feeling of excitement replaces the feeling of relaxation. In this case, the effects associated with adaptation usually disappear in less than a day.
The term "tachyphylaxis", meaning "acute immunity," describes adaptive compensatory changes that begin in the body as soon as alcohol enters the brain. There is a vast and rather obscure literature on tachyphylaxis, however, it seems that if this phenomenon were known more widely, it would be a real godsend for lawyers specializing in drunk driving cases, and even more for their clients. a proven and interesting shift in the relationship between blood alcohol levels and dysfunction - and it is associated with tachyphylaxis.
When a person drinks, their blood alcohol levels rise as the alcohol enters the body from the intestines. Meanwhile, in the liver, alcohol is broken down (metabolized) at a constant rate. Therefore, the balance between absorption of alcohol into the blood and metabolism in the liver determines how much alcohol will be in the brain. If we tried to depict the function of changes in the concentration of alcohol in the brain during violent libations, then its graph would look like an inverted letter U. With this everything is clear, but here's what is interesting: it turns out that the effect of alcohol depends very much on changes in its content in the blood - it increases or decreases. If we were to investigate behavioral changes that took place at different periods of time, when the concentration of alcohol in the blood of the same person is identical,but in the first case, this point refers to the ascending part of the curve, and in the second - in the descending part, then we will see a fundamental difference in the results.
The curve goes up, the drinker is good: the mesolimbic pathway is activated. But at the same time, motor disorders, stumbling on the move, stumbling in speech begin - in a word, the attributes accompanying alcohol intoxication are more and more clearly manifested. After some time, the concentration of alcohol begins to decrease, pleasant sensations and disturbances are already much weaker.
Researchers have spent a lot of time and effort studying these changes, and found that the adaptation underlying addiction occurs when taking any drugs that affect the nervous system, and with a similar speed. Almost immediately, as soon as the drug begins to act on the brain, the brain begins to adapt - to counteract this influence. Therefore, it is quite logical to assert that, despite the high concentration of alcohol in the blood, when a person is in a state of tachyphylaxis, he may well drive. Good luck with your litigation!
In this example, we see that the addiction intensifies after a few sips, even after a few seconds after ingestion. Nicotine is another classic example of an acutely addictive substance. The first cigarette of the day is the tastiest, because after “switching on” certain parts of the brain that perceive nicotine effects become much less sensitive to subsequent doses.
The brain learns by adapting to any drug that affects its function. Some of these effects are relatively short-lived, such as tachyphylaxis in a binge drinker. However, since repetition is the mother of learning, chronic drug use has increasingly long-term effects. In the case of certain substances, such as antidepressants, doctors are just trying to get addictive. With the development of addiction to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), it is possible to shift the pathological affective "starting point", so that depression is no longer a normal condition for the patient. However, in drug abuse, such changes are truly protracted. As the brain adjusts to a particular drug, the drug becomes less effective at stimulating the transmission of dopamine,and the addict has to take more and more to get high. The addict, trying in vain to experience the same sensations "as in the beginning", gets used to the drug more and more. Addiction to cocaine clearly demonstrates this desperate state: the addict simply cannot help but use, even though he is fully aware of the enormous cost (socially, economically, personally) that one has to pay for it. If a drug addict with a well-trodden mesolimbic path tries to refrain from taking, then he is overcome by despondency and hopelessness, but in this state "below the base" injection of cocaine does not deliver high. Ultimately, the most an addict can count on is a brief relief.Trying in vain to experience the same sensations "as in the beginning" again, he gets used to the drug more and more. Addiction to cocaine clearly demonstrates this desperate state: the addict simply cannot help but use, even though he is fully aware of the enormous cost (socially, economically, personally) that one has to pay for it. If a drug addict with a well-trodden mesolimbic path tries to refrain from taking, then he is overcome by despondency and hopelessness, but in this state "below the base" injection of cocaine does not deliver high. Ultimately, the most an addict can count on is brief relief.Trying in vain to experience the same sensations "as in the beginning" again, he gets used to the drug more and more. Addiction to cocaine clearly demonstrates this desperate state: the addict simply cannot help but use, even though he is fully aware of the enormous cost (socially, economically, personally) that one has to pay for it. If a drug addict with a well-trodden mesolimbic path tries to refrain from taking, then he is overcome by despondency and hopelessness, but in this state "below the base" injection of cocaine does not deliver high. Ultimately, the most an addict can count on is brief relief.that he is fully aware of the enormous price (in social, economic, personal terms) that one has to pay for this. If a drug addict with a well-trodden mesolimbic path tries to refrain from taking, then he is overcome by despondency and hopelessness, but in this state "below the base" injection of cocaine does not deliver high. Ultimately, the most an addict can count on is brief relief.that he is fully aware of the enormous price (in social, economic, personal terms) that one has to pay for this. If a drug addict with a well-trodden mesolimbic path tries to refrain from taking, then he is overcome by despondency and hopelessness, but in this state "below the base" injection of cocaine does not deliver high. Ultimately, the most an addict can count on is brief relief.
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