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Faryal Wasti Malcolm Campbell English 1103 03 October 2013 Self-Rewarding Merriam-Webster defines addiction as a compulsi e need for use of a habit-forming substance! characteri"ed by tolerance and physiological symptoms upon #ithdra#al$ %ddictions can range from drin&ing coffee e ery morning to heroine dependency$ 'o get to the bottom of #hat causes such e(treme addictions in human beings! the neurological reasoning for #hat triggers certain chemical reactions in the brain #ill be ie#ed$ %ccording to Medical )e#s 'oday! addicti e beha ior is caused #hen a substance releases a re#ard neurotransmitter through the brain! &no#n as dopamine$ *ndi iduals #ith hea y addictions ha e relied on a dopamine releasing substance for so long that the body+s tolerance le el has increased$ 'herefore! it ta&es more of the addicti e substance to recei e pleasure! and the brain becomes incapable of releasing the dopamine neurotransmitter #ithout the addicti e substance$ * had learned a bit about the re#ard center and dopamine in %, ,sychology last year! and found it interesting that the same neurological imbalances cause addictions ranging from smo&ing to e(tremes li&e cocaine$

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*t is pro en that most people #ith an addiction are in denial about their condition$ Most do not belie e they ha e a problem! but #hate er it is that they are doing is by choice and not physical or psychological need$ %ccording to Candace ,lattor! a Canadian clinical psychologist! there are different methods used by addicts in denial of their problem$ 'here is rationali"ing! #here one con inces him or herself that they are allo#ed to re#ard themsel es time to time$ 'here is blaming! for e(ample! -you #ould too if you had a #ife li&e mine$. 'here is minimi"ing! #hich includes thoughts such as! -so #hat if * drin& and do pot e ery day! at least *+m not doing heroine$. %nd the most common self-delusion- the belief that one can stop #hene er they -feel li&e it$. *n fact! according to Medical )e#s 'oday! the main difference bet#een an addiction and a habit! is the difference that a habit can be controlled! and stopped #hene er #anted! #hile an addiction cannot$ *n a habit there is no psychological issue or dependency on a substance! and the brain functions the same #ay as a non-addicts brain$ While an addicts brain physiology is completely different #ith increased and decreased acti ity in many parts! and o ertime- o erall function$ /o #hat is the neurological reason behind addiction0 1o# can some indi iduals discontinue their addicti e habits and some not0 %ccording to The Chemical Carousel! the physical appearance of an addict and nonaddict+s brain are significantly different$ 'his means that there are different reactions occurring! #ith different effects on beha ior and cogniti ity$ 'he prefrontal corte( is the area of the brain 2ust past the barrier of our forehead

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that is in ol ed in decision ma&ing$ ,rimates and other animals #ith small-to no- prefrontal corte(es! cannot thin& acti ely and abstractly$ )o# #e &no# that alcohol and drugs can impair an indi idual+s decision and reasoning ability 3uite a bit$ 'hat means these substances affect the prefrontal corte( 45oles of 6opamine and /erotonin in 6ecision Ma&ing7$ Once the indi idual in ta&ing the drug or alcohol! o ertime the damage to the corte( is done! and it cannot function properly on its o#n$ 'his in return! causes the poor-decision ma&ing cycle of continuing to participate in addicti e beha ior! because the indi idual+s decision ma&ing center has been impaired #ith o erusing a harming substance$ 'his does not ho#e er actually cause the person to be addicted to the substance$ /erotonin and 6opamine are the re#ard neurotransmitters located in the mid-brain$ 'his means that they reinforce beha ior at the neurological and chemical le el$ %ccording to the primary research article! 5oles of 6opamine and /erotonin in 6ecision Ma&ing! dopamine and serotonin #or& together to reinforce natural! unconditioned beha iors! such as eating! in humans so that #e continue to carry-out acts that &eep us ali e$ For e(ample! food is good and it ma&es us feel good because dopamine is the neurotransmitter released #hen #e eat$ E entually! #e #ant to &eep feeling this natural high! and therefore #e continue to eat for the rest of our li es$ When alcohol or drugs are consumed! they cause the mid-brain to release e(cess dopamine neurotransmitters! ta&ing the indi idual to the ne(t le el of that feel-good state$

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While dopamine ma&es it seem li&e you+re in a state of high! ris&ta&ing en ironment! serotonin lea es one feeling rela(ed and -chill. in a #ay 4,sychology 'oday7$ Of course it is another feel-good neurotransmitter! so the acti ities that cause serotonin to be released are reinforced o ertime$ 6opamine and /erotonin are t#o neurotransmitters that #ere e olutionarily adapted by humans to &eep us in routine of doing things that help our body remain healthy! and ultimately &eep us ali e$ Food and sleep for e(ample! release these neurotransmitters gi ing a sense of natural high and happiness! reinforcing this beha ior and causing us to continue it$ 'hese are the same neurotransmitters that are released by drugs and alcohol! and #hen ta&en in e(cess amounts! can cause one to become dependent on them in order to feel the high$ 'his e entually causes addiction to occur o ertime! if not instantaneously$ 'here are t#o different types of addictions that are &no#n of as of no#$ 'he scientifically ac&no#ledged branch is substance addiction$ /ubstance addiction is the abuse of some type of substance! for e(ample drugs and alcohol as the most common$ 'he second type of addiction is beha ioral addiction! #hich is acting on compulsi e beha ior #ithout much control$ 8eha ioral addiction is not considered a real type of addiction by most! and is a much ne#er thought as compared to substance addition #hich has been around for a #hile$ E(amples of beha ioral addiction include eating disorders! internet addiction! and hyper-se(uali"ed beha ior$ Marc 9e#is! ,h$6$ in addicted brains suggests that beha ioral addictions should be

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officially accepted as a type of addiction because the brain processes in ol ed are the same in substance addiction as #ell$ 9e#is states that the commonality bet#een the t#o types of addictions is the compulsion that the addicts ha e$ 8eha ior addicts can be compulsi e gamers! #hile substance addicts can be compulsi e smo&ers$ 8oth ha e the same parts of their brain acti ated and impacted by these t#o branches of addiction$ 6r$ Fineberg! a #ell-recogni"ed researcher! says that the entral regions of the prefrontal corte(! sho# less connection o er time! and the brains ability to control itself becomes less to none(istent- depending on the e(tremity of the addiction$ 'his can be seen in the pre ious information gi en! that the prefrontal corte(- the decision ma&ing part of the brain- is impaired #hen under substance abuse$ )o# #e &no# that this neurological reasoning is the same for beha ioral addiction as #ell$ %ddicts sho# increased brain acti ity in the amygdala oblongata! #hich is the part of the brain #hich controls emotional conditioning$ 'here is also a lo#er acti ation in the nucleus accumbens! #hich is the part of the brain that see&s re#ards 4'he Common 6enominator of %ll %ddictions7$ 'he emotional attachment to a substance or beha ior constitutes for the compulsi e beha ior in an addict$ 'here is al#ays a need for the addicti e substance #hether it is the internet or a cigarette$ Once the body has a higher tolerance of the addicti e beha ior or substance! there is more re3uired to recei e the re#ard that the nucleus accumbens causes your body to see&$ 'his results in a cycle of

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addicti e beha ior because a proper decision cannot be made! there is emotional attachment to the addiction! and more is needed e ery time$

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Wor& Cited
:%ll %bout %ddiction$: Medical News Today$ Medi9e(icon *nternational! n$d$ Web$ 0; )o $ 2013$ <http=>>###$medicalne#stoday$com>info>addiction>?$

:1o# *s %ddiction 6iagnosed$: Medical News Today$ Medi9e(icon *nternational! n$d$ Web$ 2@ Oct$ 2013$ :*s Aour %ddiction Ma&ing Aour 9ife Miserable0: Addictions Counselling, Vancouver, BC, Substance Abuse, Eating Disorders, Alcohol, Addictive Behaviour$ )$p$! n$d$ Web$ 2@ Oct$ 2013$ 9e#is! Mar&$ :'he Common 6enominator$: sychology Today$ )$p$! 01 Buly 2013$ Web$ 03 )o $ 2013$ <http=>>###$psychologytoday$com>blog>addicted-brains>20130;>thecommon-denominator-all-addictions?$ 9e#is! Mar&$ :When the 'hrill *s Cone= 5e#ard 6eficiency /yndrome$: sychology Today$ )$p$! 1D %ug$ 2013$ Web$ 02 )o $ 2013$ <http=>>###$psychologytoday$com>blog>addicted-brains>20130E>#henthe-thrill-is-gone-re#ard-deficiency-syndrome?$ 5ogers! 5obert 6$ :5oles of 6opamine and /erotonin in 6ecision Ma&ing$: Nature!com$ )ature ,ublishing Croup! n$d$ Web$ 2@ Oct$ 2013$ :'he Chemical Carousel$: The Chemical Carousel$ )$p$! n$d$ Web$ 2@ Oct$ 2013$