Month: April 2017

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Dopamine and the Reward System

Dopamine and the Reward System play an important role in addiction. When a an addict uses an active drug it produces a high, overstimulating the brains reward system. Our brains are made up of cells called neurons. Neurons communicate with one another through an exchange of molecules called neurotransmitters, which are like keys that fit into locks called receptors on the surface of the brain. When a neurotransmitter locks onto a receptor, it transmits a message, either stimulating or depressing the neuron activity. This is called a synapse sending a message from one brain cell to another, it initiates a chain reaction along a neural-network sending messages around our brains. For the network to operate properly, these neurotransmitters and receptors must stay in proper balance. The brain detects imbalance and corrects them.

The Reward System is the neural network involved in feeling pleasure. This system is also central to learning and motivation. The primary neurotransmitter in the Reward System is Dopamine. If enough dopamine is released into the brains reward circuits, euphoria results.

Dopamine-based exhilaration is common experience, at least partially responsible just about anytime one experiences pleasure. A hug, a kiss, a word of praise, winning a game, can trigger a dopamine spike, resulting in pleasure. When your team hits a last second shot to win a basketball game and the team erupts in delirium, this is a rush of dopamine stimulating the brains reward system through the synapse rushing through the neural network, causing extreme pleasure.

Drugs create a high by increasing dopamine to the Reward System much like natural rewards do, just up to about 10 times more. If drugs are used only occasionally, the brain corrective systems restore proper balance once the drug wears off. But when drugs are abused and used excessively, the brain boosts it’s defensive reaction. The brain does this by increasing the tolerance levels. By doing this it makes the Reward System less efficient, muting the over stimulation caused by drugs. Once tolerance develops, it takes more drugs to achieve the same high.

If excessive drug use occurs over a long period of time, the brain keeps developing an accelerating tolerance level. This can result in physical permanent changes in the Reward System neurons of addicts. These changes not only alter the structure of the neurons, but also their function. This literally changes the way an addict thinks, resulting in behavior change such as denial, irrationality, and obsessive compulsive behaviors. and continual increased drug use.

There is however a way to adjust and correct this imbalance through abstinence and recovery practices. Addiction is a process, one does not become addicted in one day, as is recovery a process. The brain has the ability to correct the imbalance through the process of working recovery practices and realigning the thinking process. Recovery takes work and I am here to guide you in many different modalities and practice to bring you success.

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Addiction Defined

  • An obsessive and compulsive drug seeking behavior even in the face of negative health and social consequences
  • A progressive and fatal disease. It gets worse over time because of the way tolerance intensifies
  • It is a chronic relapsing disease, because long term drug use alters the brain structure and function. These brain changes remain months and even years after the last drug use, and leave the brain vulnerable to relapse long after withdrawal and treatment.

What makes addiction a disease is the brain becomes physically altered and different at a molecular and cellular level that from abuse of substances. These differences in the brains structure, causes the brain to malfunction, causing the way addicts think and behave. The obsessive and compulsive behaviors continue to intensify as use continues and the tolerance levels grow. Neuroscientist say that in addicts, normal balancing mechanism in the brain go haywire, allowing instinct like circuits to find drugs rewarding and hijack the brain functions, resulting in obsessive – compulsive drug use. This disease of the brain is constantly progressing due to increasing tolerance level rising.

These difference in the brains structure and functioning occur in the brains Limbic System, the network of the brain that is responsible for feeling pleasure and both positive and negative emotions. Substances including alcohol greatly overstimulate this network – by as much as 10 times that of a natural reward – to produce a high.

For most people alcohol and drugs are pleasurable but not life changing. However, for others, like those who have a genetic predisposition, drug induced over excitement of the Reward System causing a profound positive effect, change the perception that drugs are the solution to their deepest emotional problem. That euphoric feeling motivates them to take more and more drugs increasing their tolerance to higher levels, constantly seeking more drugs. They feel they are accessing the solution to emotional endeavor’s and creating more negative consequences and permanently altering the brain cells and in this Reward System.

Once a user goes beyond the point of no return the physical body, tolerance levels go into overload and now without the drugs the body reacts and takes the addict to another level that not only does the brain seek a solution in drugs the body becomes adjusted and react with physical craving. The disease spreads to different parts of the body depending on the substance and the physical body becomes dependent on it. That why Detox is such a tough physical ordeal for the addict. For the opioid user they become drug sick, for the alcoholic they get delirium tremens (DT’s). Without drugs or alcohol, the brain experiences a stimulation deficit and plunges into withdrawals. At this point the addict must continue to use to avoid this terrible fate of withdrawal and the substance use becomes compulsive, constantly seeking more to meet the tolerance levels that are being increased.

The Reward System of the brain has now created a “new normal” effecting the balance between emotional and intellectual brain systems. Ordinarily these two brain functions are equally balanced to affect the decision-making process. But in the addict’s, brain the abnormally excited Reward System gain an edge over corresponding rational systems. As a result, addicts over value the short term emotional need for drugs and under-value the rational consequences of substance use. This is all compounded by multi substance users.

In short, the drug induced molecular rewiring of the brain causes an imbalance that results in why addicts obsessively use drugs despite the worsening consequences and damage it causes in their lives, and why they cannot see a rational solution to their use.

There is a solution and recovery is possible. It is possible to rebuild and create a new life to repair brain functionality, and learn tools to assist in maintaining a clean and sober lifestyle. Like with addiction, you don’t become addicted in one day it a process. Recovery is also a process and there is different modality to recovery. Allow me to share these with you and learn more practices to help you and your loved one wake up from the nightmare of the disease of addiction and wake up to a new way of life.