Brain Mechanisms Controlling Drug Addiction Reinforcement

Brain Mechanisms Controlling Drug Addiction Reinforcement Discuss how theories relate drug addiction to endogenous brain mechanisms controlling reinforcement, and look at how these theories may be used to improve the effectiveness of treatment of addiction In psycho-biological terms addiction is regarded as the perceived need for a drug or substance and the potential for the subsequent re-use of that substance often manifesting itself in a pattern of drug induced behaviour. This has indicated a connection between the behavioural pattern of a user and the biological cravings that are associated with this pattern of behaviour. Due to this relationship between dependent and abusive behaviour patterns and the biological and psychological cravings for the wanted substances, research has gone into establishing the effects of drug addiction and their basis in psychology resulting in many neurobiological models. In terms of patterns of behaviour, operant conditioning provides a convenient, easy and reliable way of adjusting any subject’s pa ttern of behaviour under the conditioning of a controlled and changeable environmental. This has been conducted in research in an easily observable manner that was then able to account for factors pertaining to addiction and the potential for abuse through accordance to a pre-devised model. Through the notions of positive regard, response and reward and through shaping behaviours this could then be adjusted to test any independent variable. This acts as a convenient methodology for observing the effects of drugs and was devised by early Psychopharmacological researchers in a bid to examine the relationship between drug use and behaviour patterns. One such piece of seminal research that incorporated this relationship was conducted by Dews (1953). In his founding study, Dew began a program of operant studies in an attempt to observe the behavioural effects of drugs to see how it could act as a precursor for addiction. His initial experiments on the behavioural patterns observed in ani mals led to the establishment that a schedule of reinforcement maintaining a pattern of behaviour could play a critical role in determining the effects of a drug (Dews, 1955). Through operant conditioning and behavioural observation he was able to discern that the dose-effects of the drugs used in his experiment varied in terms of performances that were maintained under two different schedules of reinforcement. However, he was also able to observe that there was a dose range in which the rate of behaviour would increase in one schedule condition, whilst it decreased in the other condition. This was an early indication that drug addiction depended upon the schedule as much as it did the dosage. Essentially, addiction was determined by patterns of behaviour as much as patterns of behaviour were determined by drug usage. In these early experiments, Dews was able to ascertain that stimulants would increase the probability of a pattern of behaviour as it pertained to the relevant classif ication of a drug. However, he was also able to note that the drug could decrease the probability of any given pattern of behaviour itself. This research indicated that there was a variety of concepts at play within the role of addiction, such as tolerance, abuse, dependency and reward. In contemporary research, we can see that these factors have been incorporated in an attempt to identify the mechanisms in the brain that lead to dependency, abuse and addiction through the parsing of reward. This was devised by Berridge et al (2003) as the investigation to find the neuro-pharmacological basis for three main psychological components essential to the parsing of reward and onset of addiction. These were the concepts of learning that included the explicit and implicit knowledge produced by associative conditioning and cognitive processes, an affect or emotion such as implicit ‘liking’ and conscious pleasure associated with the experience of the drug, and motivation; suggest ed as the implicit incentive salient ‘wanting’ and the accompanying cognitive incentive goals. Essentially, this three way split revealed that learning (Dews schedules of reinforcement), craving (the perceived effect of the drug) and habit (Dews patterns of behaviour) were the major contributing and operating factors in the role of addiction.

Mechanisms That Would Bring About Macroeconomic Equilibrium Essay

Mechanisms That Would Bring About Macroeconomic Equilibrium - Essay Example How our currency fares in comparison and competition with those of other countries and its fluctuations and ups and downs are included in this category. However, in the floating exchange rate system the currency rate is determined by the forces of demand and supply and thus, central banks cannot help there. However, Government intervention could help bring macro-economic equilibrium in this case. Through the use of laws and regulations, it could prove to be a worthy and useful mechanism in this regard. Taxes and subsidies imposed by Government on producers of different commodities are one of them. Secondly, tariffs are another factor in this regard. They might take the form of quotas, embargos and other forms of tariff regimes. The state of economy also matters. Whether the economy is in a state of a boom [good economic period with high GDP] or in a state of slump [bad economic period with low levels of GDP] also affects the exchange rates.

Hypothetical Family Health Promotion Assessment Essay

Hypothetical Family Health Promotion Assessment - Essay Example While some families may consist of the standard two-parent home, there are a numerous amount of ways in which families are organized and in which social groups they exist. The modern nurse must be sensitive to these unusual circumstances and adjust one’s attitude accordingly, being careful not to place judgment upon clients who need nursing services. According to Bomar (2004), â€Å"During the past two decades, the evolution of family nursing assessment in nursing theory, practice, education, and research has been observed and documented in the nursing literature† (pp. 275). Nurses must be sensitive also to the fact that various ages, races, ethnicities, and other demographics of people may not fit perceived stereotypes, or that their lives’ paths vary significantly from what is considered socially appropriate or aesthetically pleasant. Some people live in abject poverty while other patients may be quite rich—and it is important for the nurse to understand that she must treat all of her patients with the same amount of dignity and care as she would anyone else. This is especially true of the Morrison family as evidenced in Mary Lawson’s book Crow Lake. Katie is definitely not the typical caregiver, as she is an young adult herself and learning how to take care of a young sister who is less than five years old. Katie is one of the focal points of the book, a scientist who struggles with the issues that surround being impoverished, but, at the same time juggling responsibilities while aspiring to a better life. The FFAM is, according to Stanhope and Lancaster (2006), â€Å"[o]ne family assessment model and approach developed by a nurse†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (pp. 335). The FFAM is able to assess various family issues that are of concern to the nurse in his or her chosen profession. Obviously, in any family there are immediate telltale signs of problems. The most obvious sign of some problem is physical abuse, although, the problems to b e discussed here are more internal, invisible, intangible problems which can have effects on patients. Although one can’t see a bruise, indeed, the individual is injured, albeit in his or her psyche. It is the emotional pain that can also scar a patient irrevocably for life, and this is what the nurse seeks to diagnose in order so that he or she can assuage the patient’s fears and continue to pursue a plan that will plot a course of treatment appropriate for the patient. Affective Involvement is the first aspect that I would think would be very key in assessing the Morrison family’s situation. The family’s young ones are taught not to express themselves overtly in a strong manner. Says Lawson (2003), â€Å"Understatement was the rule in our house. Emotions, even positive ones, were kept firmly under control† (pp. 9). Most relevant for promoting the Morrison family’s health in this category comes under the concern of the young people basicall y not being cared for in the ways they need to develop. For example, one very important concern is Katie’s younger sister Bo, who is a toddler. Toddlers need lots of love and affection from parents in order to develop properly, and without that kind of support, Bo will rely almost entirely upon her older sister as a mother figure, and upon her brothers Matt and Luke as father figures. However, since Luke at one point might go away to college, and Matt establishes his own family—only Luke remains once he decides that he is going to get a job to support the family instead, even though he