Essay Example on Understand Addiction: Brain Chemistry & Treatment Principles

Introduction

In the book, The Science of Addiction: From Neurobiology to Treatment by Carlton K. Erickson (2018), he concentrates on the science of addiction delving deeper into the interface between the brain and the body. Erickson capitalizes on brain chemistry and anatomy to offer the knowledge that drug-dependent people, abusers, and caregivers can use to understand their conditions and develop and apply better treatment principles. Deeper into the third chapter of the book, Erickson analyzes how the brain's reward pathways, associates with neurobiological components to result in chemical dependence. He examines the DNA and RNA to establish why there are specific symptoms for long term abuse of various forms of drugs. As shown in the book, Erickson differentiates between an addict with a small and capital 'a' and the differences between addiction and substance use disorder (SUD). Erickson notes on the needs for professionals in various fields to learn on the "changes in the terminology and conceptualization of 'addiction' that are emerging based on new neuroscience, genetic, and clinical findings, and that can help us understand why one type of drug problem is a chronic medical brain disease" (Erickson, 2018). By connecting one's genetic composition to the dependence on drugs, Erickson highlights the "genetics of alcohol and other drug dependence" (Erickson, 2020) as a primary component to understanding drug dependency.

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The Brain's Reward Pathways and Chemical Dependence: Unraveling the Connection

Throughout the writing, Erickson concentrates on the specific effects of various drugs on the brain and seeks to explain why some drug dependency are harder to treat and manage than others. Furthermore, he also offers scientific views on how to better treat the dependence disease through the neuroscientific knowledge he has accumulated and demonstrated in the book. As he developed various suggestions, he highlights the primary limitations and powers the addiction research poses and points out to future research areas that need increased focus for the attainment of more knowledge to help in better treatment strategies.

Differentiating Addiction: Small 'a' vs. Capital 'A' and Substance Use Disorder (SUD)

One of the most informative takeaways from the book is based on its fundamental aspect, which is its application of scientific terms. Erickson is keen to offer an updated glossary, abbreviations' list and appendices, which not only clarify the changes in terms but also include new findings in the field of neuroscience. An interesting factor in the book is that the central theme of the text is the science of addiction. Erickson builds a substantive case based on neuroscience on what makes treating addiction difficult and how caregivers and addicts can better understand the interaction between genes, brain, brain reward paths, and the body to develop better treatment strategies.

Genetics of Drug Dependence: Understanding the Role of DNA and RNA

Insights gained from Erickson's book are based on the employment of a straightforward plot opening with a preface of available research and studies on addiction and how his work will differ and contribute to the research. The main characters in the book are patients of various types of dependence on drugs and different professionals across the field. Erickson then progresses to make his case why the word addiction should be substituted for drug dependence since it is a brain disease. He dedicates an entire chapter to explain the basics of brain science and another chapter laying the foundation of the anatomy and neurobiology of chemical dependence. These beginning chapters lay a foundation for Erickson's exploration of specific drug impacts on the brain and body in the following sections, which marks the climax of his work. Towards the end, Erickson closes the book by making recommendations, highlighting the challenges and the powers that addiction research currently has, and points to future research areas that could contribute to the existing body of knowledge.

Neuroscientific Insights for Better Treatment Strategies

However, Erickson's book related to other writings, which include Francesca Filbey's book titled, "The Neuroscience of Addiction." Francesca Filbey's book aims at creating awareness of the critical knowledge that neuroscience has developed over the years on addiction causes and potential treatments. The two authors agree that most neuroscientific knowledge on addiction remains a preserve and specialization for scientists, and thereby, the authors urge professionals and people with drug dependency to embark on understanding neuroscientific knowledge that is useful to them (Filbey, 2019). Another book resonating with Erickson's ideas is the Orient's book, "The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction is Not a Disease." This book offers a different interpretation of addiction and comes to a differing conclusion from that of Erickson. It is recommended as these two neuroscientists and professors seem to interpret the interrelatedness of addiction to neurology. This comparison and contrast help emphasize on essential aspects of addiction and neuroscience (Orient, 2017).

Comparing Perspectives: Erickson's Book vs. Filbey and Orient's Works

Given the extensive research Erickson demonstrates to have carried out to compile this book through literature review and statistical analysis and the objectivity he explained, this book rate best at a four-star. The one star is lost due to the heavy use of neurological terms, which may make it hard for professionals across different fields and addicts to miss out on the knowledge the book contains. It, however, dramatically demonstrates the role of brain anatomy in drug dependency.

Conclusion

Erickson's book reviews the literature of others in the field of addiction and contributes immensely to linking addiction to interconnectivity between the body and the brain and genetics. Undoubtedly, the mind plays a critical role in determining behaviors, including addiction. Although the book applies complex terminologies in its scientific approach to explain addiction neuroscientifically, it nevertheless points out to the need for further research in the field as the addiction continues to plague the society in several ranks and mannerisms.

References

Erickson, C. K. (2018). The science of addiction: From neurobiology to treatment. WW Norton & Company.

Filbey, F. M. (2019). The neuroscience of addiction. Cambridge University Press.

Orient, J. M. (2017). The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction Is Not a Disease. Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, 22(4), 127-128.