Youths Caught in the Trap of Drug Addiction: A Grave Reality - Essay Sample

Introduction

Most adolescents fall prey to drug addiction due to the pressures to be like others. They feel like doing what their peers do makes them adults. They try different samples of drugs and become hardcore while trying to prove how immune they are to such stuff. The wave of peer pressure sweeps them off, and before they know it, they are drug addicts. The most commonly abused drugs among youths are cocaine, bhang, marijuana, and heroin. All these drugs are illegal in most countries. Therefore, this paper examines the relationship between neuroscience and the process of drug addiction among adolescents.

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The Neuroscience of Drug Addiction: A Chronic Illness

In an article about the neurobiology of substance use, misuse, and addiction, researchers gather knowledge about the extremes of substance use disorders and science to solve these problems. In the past, addiction to drugs was associated with the moral flaws of the victims. However, researchers have taken a deeper understanding of the addiction problem and have concluded that it is related to the body's neuroscience. Addiction is a chronic illness that shows the symptoms of waning health, voluntary control of drug use, and social impairments. Most drug addicts become socially distant and are violent (Silveri et al., 2016). They command total control over what they do, and their health keeps flagging. Physical impacts may include loss of appetite, loss of weight, and physical harm, especially when injecting heroin into the veins. The symptoms of addiction may be similar to those of other chronic diseases like hypertension and diabetes. However, both illnesses are related to the brain function, environmental, behavioral, genetic, social, and developmental factors surrounding the victims. In the end, research shows that addicts and chronic illness patients face a hard time when adhering to the prescribed medication.

The Brain's Role in Substance Use Disorders: Triggers and Neuroadaptations

The medical understanding of addiction as a health issue has helped in the prevention and treatment of substance disorders. Researchers have come up with ways to treat the illness by eradicating the cons associated with substance use and integrating medication into mainstream healthcare programs. The association of the brain with addiction has brought forth the possible treatment for opioid, alcohol, and nicotine use impairments. One of the findings in this article is that alcohol is a chronic impairment controlled by the brain that can recur, yet the patient may recover through appropriate treatment. Research also shows that substance disorders result from three stages. In the intoxication level, the victim familiarizes with what the drug is(Silveri et al., 2016). In the withdrawal stage, the negative effects of the drug start showing, and the victim becomes socially distant. In the last stage, the victim anticipates more of the substance. The consumption of the drug is now beyond his control. The brain plays a major function in this stage.

Whereas the brain controls the consumption of the drug in the final stage, treatment of the condition is heavily reliant on the brain as well. Three parts of the brain play a big role in the inception, progress, and maturity stages of the disorder. The basal ganglia cells trigger the associated substance cues to yearn for drug consumption. The extended amygdala reduces the ability of the brain to detect good and unhealthy pleasure, thus activating brain stress. Lastly, the pre-frontal cortex cells reduce the functioning of the executive brain systems, making it impossible for one to make the right decisions and lose control over emotions(Silveri et al., 2016). In the long run, the brain develops neuroadaptations to these substances, a condition that leads to addiction. Finally, adolescents fall prey to addiction since their brains are under development.

Neurobiology of Adolescent Substance Use: Vulnerability and Risk Factors

Another research material discusses the Neurobiology of Adolescent Substance use, Addictive Behaviors, Prevention, and Treatment. The adolescence stage involves behavioral, psychological, and biological changes in an individual. During this stage, the young brain succumbs to neural circuitry demanding for reward, cognitive control, and brain stress, which are the common factor that increases the urge to consume drugs(Galanter et al., 2014). The adolescent brain eventually becomes vulnerable to substance use leading to disorders. The risk level and the impact of substance use depends on specific adolescent groups. Researchers classify adolescents according to their genetics, phenotypes, and epigenetics. Therefore, understanding the role of the adolescent brain in addiction to drugs will help in the screening, prevention, and reformation of victims. It will also help in the formation of public policies to treat and manage the condition that is taking a toll on the young generation.

Adolescents show maturity in physique and puberty, which makes them feel responsible for individuals worth independence. They also show increased social interactions with their peers making them yearn to behave like their age mates. The researchers also prove that biological models central on reward systems are impactful for the recovery process of the addicts. However, cases occur when the amount of substance consumed is beyond the reward system control when the amount of substance is extreme in the body, important neurotransmitters like dopamine malfunction.

Treating Adolescent Addiction: Cognitive Training and Contingency Models

The recovery process may be effective if they are exposed to rewarding activities rather than stimuli. Adolescents are reluctant to reverse action and yearn for motivation. Therefore, they can be offered the substance under strict measures of limited control. Health workers may also offer contingency models to help the addicts limit their consumption by offering rewards for good behavior and reduced drug use (Galanter et al., 2014). The application of cognitive training has been effective in dealing with the addiction process. It involves training the mind to refrain from addiction and is made possible through therapy. Research also shows that adolescent females are at higher risk to suffer from addiction as compared to their male age mates. Their speed of development is outrageous, thus acting as a motivating factor to the neural system to anticipate for substance use. Lastly, the government has to step in dealing with this nightmare that is eating up the young generation. The enacting of laws for high taxes on tobacco and nicotine products will make the substance expensive. Thus, many youths will not afford it. The health ministry should also be on the watch to see that youths are saved from this situation by creating awareness. Civic education is a primary step to save the future of the youth.

Physiological Symptoms of Addiction: Reinforcement, Reward, and Recovery

The last article presents information on the physiological symptoms of addiction. Addiction refers to the use of drugs whose rewards produce effects that cause the user to keep repeating the act despite the negative impacts on one's health. The commonly abused substance include alcohol, opioid, nicotine, tobacco, and cocaine. Some behaviors may be addictive, thus leading to research on the neurobiological relationship between the brain and substance use. Reinforcement and reward are common brain pathways that play a major role in the addiction process by involving dopamine, a neurotransmitter (Krobb & Volkow, 2016). They cause pruning in the synapses of the pre-frontal cortex, making this central part of the brain subject to the anticipation of substance use. Substance use may are compared with gambling behaviors that result in stress, anxiety, depression in the victims. Addicts show signs of withdrawal, interruption of daily activities, social disturbance, and inability to control the consumption of drugs. All these signs are subject to the brain's reinforcement, motivation, reward, and memory systems. Occasionally, the users are unaware of the impact of the substance on themselves and those around them.

Addiction tends to inflict feelings of unworthiness, guilt, failure, and shame on the users. The recovery process could be self-driven, commonly known as natural recovery. However, some individuals may prefer the help of professional therapists or rehabilitation. Others may also prefer the help of community members who offer civic education on the demerits of drug and substance use to an individual and society. The recovery process may be barred by relapses. However, if an individual manages a drug-free life for over five years, there is a possibility for the restoration of synaptic density proving full recovery.

The symptoms for addiction include excessive use of the substance, quest of the drug, disruption in daily activities such as school or work, continual use despite health impacts, and the final refrain from participating in important activities. There are several causes of addiction, ranging from biological, psychological to environmental factors. Vulnerability results from the variation in genes that form the receptors in the brain, thus becoming a genetic and biological factor that leads to addiction (Krobb & Volkow, 2018). Liver enzymes responsible for the metabolization of substances tend to vary, leading to the anticipation for alcohol consumption. Personality factors, trauma, and abuse, and mental health factors are among the psychological factors responsible for addiction. Lastly, the environmental factors leading to addiction include family relations, employment status, and accessibility to the substance.

Conclusion

Conclusively, this paper entails peer-reviewed research on the relationship between neurobiological science and substance use disorders. The articles used in this paper have focused on adolescents who are vulnerable to addiction following their speed of development. The addiction process involves the inception, development, and maturity stage. Recovery is possible through treatment, self-help, and therapy. Finally, research in this assignment proves better ways have come up to help the young generation from the biological point of view.

References

Galanter, M., Kleber, H. D., & Brady, K. (Eds.). (2014). The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of substance abuse treatment. American Psychiatric Pub.

Silveri, M. M., Dager, A. D., Cohen-Gilbert, J. E., & Sneider, J. T. (2016). Neurobiological Signatures associated with alcohol and drug use in the human adolescent brain. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 70, 244-259.

Koob, G. F., & Volkow, N. D. (2016). Neurobiology of addiction: a neurocircuitry analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry, 3(8), 760-773.