According to the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 14.4 million adults aged 18 and older had alcohol use disorder (AUD). Mixing alcohol with other drugs such as opioids or cocaine has become an emerging trend, exacerbating public health concerns and may synergistically augment the seriousness of the adverse effects such as withdrawal symptoms, cardiovascular disorders, liver damage, reproductive abnormalities, and behavioral abnormalities. Despite the seriousness of the situation, possible mechanisms underlying the addiction and the withdrawal symptoms is not yet understood. This has been one of the key hindrances in developing effective treatment. Neurobiology of Alcohol and the Brain addresses the addiction-related problems reviewing both the mechanisms and withdrawal system with alcohol addiction. First, the book discusses the mechanisms of the rewarding and aversive effects, including addiction and the withdrawal symptoms of alcohol drinking. Next, alcohol's interaction with other drugs and ensuing adverse consequences is discussed including current and novel treatments against alcoholism. This is followed by a closer look at mental health and alcohol use disorder comorbidity. Lastly, the reader is provided with examples of an experimental study that describes possible protective effects of gold nanoparticles against alcohol addiction in rats subjected to alcohol self-administration. Neurobiology of Alcohol and the Brain will unlock the mechanistic diversities of alcoholism helping to facilitate future developments of new, personalized treatment options for patients suffering from alcohol addiction. Provides an exhaustive overview of neurobiology of alcohol addiction, including significant recent advances Discusses the mechanisms underlying the adverse effects of alcohol-drug mixtures Includes recent experimental studies on gold nanoparticles

Recent scientific advances have provided substantial information on the brain circuits and pathways relevant to various aspects of dependence. Neurobiology of Alcohol Dependence highlights the most recent data at the molecular, cellular, neurocircuitry, and behavioral levels, fostering an understanding how neuroplasticity and neuroadaptation occur, and how different neural pathways and neurocircuits contribute to dependence. - Highlights recent advances in understanding alcohol addiction from molecular, cellular, neurocircuitry, and behavioral levels - Integrates several emerging areas of research and discusses the application of novel research techniques to the understanding of alcohol dependence - Chapters authored by leaders in the field around the globe — the broadest, most expert coverage available

The question how alcohol alters mood states and why this may end up becoming an addiction is puzzling alcohol researchers since decades. In this volume, an assembly of highly distinguished experts and leaders in alcohol addiction research provides lucid presentations of the current knowledge and research challenges as well as interesting viewpoints on future research directions aimed to stimulate communication and convergence between clinical and preclinical researchers, and to renew interest in the vibrant field of alcohol addiction research among a wide scientifically minded audience. Five Current Topics are discussed in this volume: Neurobiological mechanisms of alcoholism, Genetics, Clinical phenotypes and their preclinical models, Brain imaging, and Translational approaches for treatment development, both pharmacological and non-pharmacological. These areas have in our opinion brought alcohol research substantially forward and influenced our thinking about how to reach our common paramount goal, namely to offer effective treatment solutions for an extensive group of patients with largely unmet medical needs.

Alcohol is the most widely used drug in the world, yet alcoholism remains a serious addiction affecting nearly 20 million Americans. Our current understanding of alcohol's effect on brain structure and related functional damage is being revolutionized by genetic research, basic neuroscience, brain imaging science, and systematic study of cognitive, sensory, and motor abilities. Volume 125 of the Handbook of Clinical Neurology is a comprehensive, in-depth treatise of studies on alcohol and the brain covering the basic understanding of alcohol's effect on the central nervous system, the diagnosis and treatment of alcoholism, and prospect for recovery. The chapters within will be of interest to clinical neurologists, neuropsychologists, and researchers in all facets and levels of the neuroscience of alcohol and alcoholism. - The first focused reference specifically on alcohol and the brain - Details our current understanding of how alcohol impacts the central nervous system - Covers clinical and social impact of alcohol abuse disorders and the biomedical consequences of alcohol abuse - Includes section on neuroimaging of neurochemical markers and brain function

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. - Outlines the history and behavioral mechanism of action of alcohol relevant to the neurobiology of alcohol addiction - Includes neurocircuitry, cellular, and molecular neurobiological mechanisms of alcohol addiction in each stage of the addiction cycle - Explores evolving areas of research associated with all three stages of the alcohol addiction cycle, including neurobiological studies of neurodevelopmental effects of early exposure to alcohol, sleep disturbances caused by alcohol, pain interactions with alcohol, sex differences in the response to alcohol, and epigenetic/genetic interactions with alcohol

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From a renowned behavioral neuroscientist and recovering addict, a rare page-turning work of science that draws on personal insights to reveal how drugs work, the dangerous hold they can take on the brain, and the surprising way to combat today's epidemic of addiction. Judith Grisel was a daily drug user and college dropout when she began to consider that her addiction might have a cure, one that she herself could perhaps discover by studying the brain. Now, after twenty-five years as a neuroscientist, she shares what she and other scientists have learned about addiction, enriched by captivating glimpses of her personal journey. In Never Enough, Grisel reveals the unfortunate bottom line of all regular drug use: there is no such thing as a free lunch. All drugs act on the brain in a way that diminishes their enjoyable effects and creates unpleasant ones with repeated use. Yet they have their appeal, and Grisel draws on anecdotes both comic and tragic from her own days of using as she limns the science behind the love of various drugs, from marijuana to alcohol, opiates to psychedelics, speed to spice. With more than one in five people over the age of fourteen addicted, drug abuse has been called the most formidable health problem worldwide, and Grisel delves with compassion into the science of this scourge. She points to what is different about the brains of addicts even before they first pick up a drink or drug, highlights the changes that take place in the brain and behavior as a result of chronic using, and shares the surprising hidden gifts of personality that addiction can expose. She describes what drove her to addiction, what helped her recover, and her belief that a “cure” for addiction will not be found in our individual brains but in the way we interact with our communities. Set apart by its color, candor, and bell-clear writing, Never Enough is a revelatory look at the roles drugs play in all of our lives and offers crucial new insight into how we can solve the epidemic of abuse.

In a book sure to inspire controversy, Gene Heyman argues that conventional wisdom about addiction—that it is a disease, a compulsion beyond conscious control—is wrong. Drawing on psychiatric epidemiology, addicts’ autobiographies, treatment studies, and advances in behavioral economics, Heyman makes a powerful case that addiction is voluntary. He shows that drug use, like all choices, is influenced by preferences and goals. But just as there are successful dieters, there are successful ex-addicts. In fact, addiction is the psychiatric disorder with the highest rate of recovery. But what ends an addiction? At the heart of Heyman’s analysis is a startling view of choice and motivation that applies to all choices, not just the choice to use drugs. The conditions that promote quitting a drug addiction include new information, cultural values, and, of course, the costs and benefits of further drug use. Most of us avoid becoming drug dependent, not because we are especially rational, but because we loathe the idea of being an addict. Heyman’s analysis of well-established but frequently ignored research leads to unexpected insights into how we make choices—from obesity to McMansionization—all rooted in our deep-seated tendency to consume too much of whatever we like best. As wealth increases and technology advances, the dilemma posed by addictive drugs spreads to new products. However, this remarkable and radical book points to a solution. If drug addicts typically beat addiction, then non-addicts can learn to control their natural tendency to take too much.

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 cycle - Actual data figures from original sources illustrating key concepts and findings - Introduction to basic neuropharmacology terms and concepts - Introduction to numerous animal models used to study diverse aspects of drug use. - Thorough review of extant work on the neurobiology of addiction

Runner-up winner of the Hamilton Book Author Award, this book is a comprehensive overview of the neurobiology behind addictions. Neuroscience is clarifying the causes of compulsive alcohol and drug use––while also shedding light on what addiction is, what it is not, and how it can best be treated––in exciting and innovative ways. Current neurobiological research complements and enhances the approaches to addiction traditionally taken in social work and psychology. However, this important research is generally not presented in a forthright, jargon-free way that clearly illustrates its relevance to addiction professionals. The Science of Addiction presents a comprehensive overview of the roles that brain function and genetics play in addiction. It explains in an easy-to-understand way changes in the terminology and characterization of addiction that are emerging based upon new neurobiological research. The author goes on to describe the neuroanatomy and function of brain reward sites, and the genetics of alcohol and other drug dependence. Chapters on the basic pharmacology of stimulants and depressants, alcohol, and other drugs illustrate the specific and unique ways in which the brain and the central nervous system interact with, and are affected by, each of these substances Erickson discusses current and emerging treatments for chemical dependence, and how neuroscience helps us understand the way they work. The intent is to encourage an understanding of the body-mind connection. The busy clinical practitioner will find the chapter on how to read and interpret new research findings on the neurobiological basis of addiction useful and illuminating. This book will help the almost 21.6 million Americans, and millions more worldwide, who abuse or are dependent on drugs by teaching their caregivers (or them) about the latest addiction science research. It is also intended to help addiction professionals understand the foundations and applications of neuroscience, so that they will be able to better empathize with their patients and apply the science to principles of treatment.

Recent years have seen more systematic investigations of the consequences of prenatal and early postnatal exposure to alcohol for brain and behavioral development. Offers an overview of what they have shown, and points out directions for further research