Presents a variety of effective tools to break the cycle of addiction. Addiction is a worldwide curse that seems to be growing in seriousness on a yearly basis. While to the general public addiction may seem almost inescapable, the truth is that there are solutions to overcoming the various addictions, though to date they seem more elusive than attainable. The goal of Escaping Addiction is to highlight the variety of causes of addiction alongside an array of useful tools anyone can use to break the cycle of addiction, whether it’s to alcohol, drugs, food, or video games. The seeds of addictive behavior are often planted in childhood then fed to grow over years of the input and reward cycle. Detaching the rewards from the addictive input is key to breaking the habits that keep us addicted. Here, the authors present the variety of treatments – from medications to therapeutic approaches – that can help. Offering a better understanding of the mechanisms of addiction, this book can help anyone struggling with addiction to unravel it in their own lives.

Understanding the phenomenon of long-lasting vulnerability to addiction is essential to developing successful treatments. Written by an international team of authorities in their respective fields, Advances in the Neuroscience of Addiction provides an excellent overview of the available and emerging approaches used to investigate the biologic mechanisms of drug addiction. It also delineates the promising research discoveries being made in relapse prevention. The book begins with current animal models of addiction, which mimic the state of humans entering treatment: recently-abstinent animals that receive common triggers for relapse (classical conditioning, stress, and neuroadaptive dysregulation). Coverage then shifts to the use of electrophysiologic approaches, which enable researchers to characterize the discharge patterns of single neurons during drug self-administration. After exploring advances in voltammetry and enzyme-linked biosensors for measuring glutamate, the book discusses the theoretical background and results of neuroimaging studies related to neuronal networks that are activated by drug-specific cues. It then describes modern genetic approaches to manipulate target proteins that influence addictive behavior. The book rounds out its coverage by illustrating how a neuroeconomic approach can inform studies of reward processing in general and addiction in particular. It is a comprehensive introduction to the methodologies of the field for students and beginning researchers and an essential reference source for established investigators.

Some general aspects of opiate dependence are described in a first section including a brief historical description and an explanation of the different models currently used to investigate opiate dependence. The neurobiological bases of opiate withdrawal are detailed in a second section, which particularly emphasizes the neurophysiological adaptative changes, the processes of homologous and heterologous regulation, and the role played by different brain structures and several endogenous peptides acting as antiopiates. The last part reports several basic aspects more directly related to the clinical perspectives of opiate dependence, such as the new expectations in the treatment of opiate withdrawal or the relationships between sensitization, tolerance and withdrawal.

A current survey and synthesis of the most important findings in our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms of addiction is detailed in our Neurobiology of Addiction series, each volume addressing a specific area of addiction. Opioids, Volume 4 in the series, explores the molecular, cellular and systems in the brain responsible for opioid addiction using the heuristic three-stage cycle framework of binge/intoxication, withdrawal/negative affect, and preoccupation/anticipation.

Compulsive Eating Behavior and Food Addiction: Emerging Pathological Constructs is the first book of its kind to emphasize food addiction as an addictive disorder. This book focuses on the preclinical aspects of food addiction research, shifting the focus towards a more complex behavioral expression of pathological feeding and combining it with current research on neurobiological substrates. This book will become an invaluable reference for researchers in food addiction and compulsive eating constructs. Compulsive eating behavior is a pathological form of feeding that phenotypically and neurobiologically resembles the compulsive-like behaviors associated with both drug abuse and behavioral addictions. Compulsive eating behavior, including Binge Eating Disorder (BED), certain forms of obesity, and 'food addiction' affect an estimated 70 million individuals worldwide.

Introduction to Addiction, Volume One in the series, introduces the reader to the study of neurobiology of addiction by clearly defining addiction and its neuroadaptational views. This volume includes thorough descriptions of the various animal models applicable to the study of addiction, including Animal Models of the Binge-Intoxication Stage of the Addiction Cycle and Animal Models of Vulnerability to Addiction. The book's authors also include a section on numerous neurobiological theories that aid in the understanding of addiction, including dopamine, prefrontal cortex and relapse.

Neurobiology of Addiction is conceived as a current survey and synthesis of the most important findings in our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms of addiction over the past 50 years. The book includes a scholarly introduction, thorough descriptions of animal models of addiction, and separate chapters on the neurobiological mechanisms of addiction for psychostimulants, opioids, alcohol, nicotine and cannabinoids. Key information is provided about the history, sources, and pharmacokinetics and psychopathology of addiction of each drug class, as well as the behavioral and neurobiological mechanism of action for each drug class at the molecular, cellular and neurocircuitry level of analysis. A chapter on neuroimaging and drug addiction provides a synthesis of exciting new data from neuroimaging in human addicts - a unique perspective unavailable from animal studies. The final chapters explore theories of addiction at the neurobiological and neuroadaptational level both from a historical and integrative perspective.
The book incorporates diverse finding with an emphasis on integration and synthesis rather than discrepancies or differences in the literature.
- Presents a unique perspective on addiction that emphasizes molecular, cellular and neurocircuitry changes in the transition to addiction
- Synthesizes diverse findings on the neurobiology of addiction to provide a heuristic framework for future work
- Features extensive documentation through numerous original figures and tables that that will be useful for understanding and teaching

A current survey and synthesis of the most important findings in our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms of addiction is detailed in our Neurobiology of Addiction series, each volume addressing a specific area of addiction. Alcohol, Volume 3 in the series, explores the molecular, cellular, and neurocircuitry systems in the brain responsible for alcohol addiction using the heuristic three-stage cycle framework of binge/intoxication, withdrawal/negative affect, and preoccupation/anticipation.

A current survey and synthesis of the most important findings in our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms of addiction are detailed in our Neurobiology of Addiction series, each volume addressing a specific area of addiction. Psychostimulants, Volume 2 in the series, explores the molecular and cellular systems in the brain responsible for psychostimulant addiction, including both direct/indirect sympathomimetics and nonsympathomimetics. This volume introduces the readers to the history of psychostimulant use. The authors clearly differentiate the neurobiological effects into three distinct stages of the addiction cycle: binge/intoxication, withdrawal/negative affect, and preoccupation/anticipation.

"Drugs, Addiction, and the Brain" explores the molecular, cellular, and neurocircuitry systems in the brain that are responsible for drug addiction. Common neurobiological elements are emphasized that provide novel insights into how the brain mediates the acute rewarding effects of drugs of abuse and how it changes during the transition from initial drug use to compulsive drug use and addiction. The book provides a detailed overview of the pathophysiology of the disease. The information provided will be useful for neuroscientists in the field of addiction, drug abuse treatment providers, and undergraduate and postgraduate students who are interested in learning the diverse effects of drugs of abuse on the brain.
Full-color circuitry diagrams of brain regions implicated in each stage of the addiction cycleActual data figures from original sources illustrating key concepts and findingsIntroduction to basic neuropharmacology terms and conceptsIntroduction to numerous animal models used to study diverse aspects of drug use.Thorough review of extant work on the neurobiology of addiction

Understanding the phenomenon of long-lasting vulnerability to addiction is essential to developing successful treatments. Written by an international team of authorities in their respective fields, Advances in the Neuroscience of Addiction provides an excellent overview of the available and emerging approaches used to investigate the biologic mechanisms of drug addiction. It also delineates the promising research discoveries being made in relapse prevention. The book begins with current animal models of addiction, which mimic the state of humans entering treatment: recently-abstinent animals that receive common triggers for relapse (classical conditioning, stress, and neuroadaptive dysregulation). Coverage then shifts to the use of electrophysiologic approaches, which enable researchers to characterize the discharge patterns of single neurons during drug self-administration. After exploring advances in voltammetry and enzyme-linked biosensors for measuring glutamate, the book discusses the theoretical background and results of neuroimaging studies related to neuronal networks that are activated by drug-specific cues. It then describes modern genetic approaches to manipulate target proteins that influence addictive behavior. The book rounds out its coverage by illustrating how a neuroeconomic approach can inform studies of reward processing in general and addiction in particular. It is a comprehensive introduction to the methodologies of the field for students and beginning researchers and an essential reference source for established investigators.