Part of the definition of addiction as a chronic illness stems from the deformation of the body’s normal functionality into something that induces harm in the person or creates new barriers that didn’t exist for normal activities, much how having a broken foot makes it difficult to walk. We tend not to yell at someone with a broken foot to ‘just walk and get over it’, but often times addicts are given that exact advice to ‘just quit and get over it’.
One of the most notable parts of this transformation of the physiology is the changes that occur within areas of the brain that release and respond to Dopamine, a neurotransmitter that controls some behaviors. Dopamine’s role in the body is that of providing a person with a sense of satisfaction, pleasure or happiness for achieving or consuming certain things and is a motivator toward repeating that action. For a non-real world example, if dopamine releases happened every time you combed your hair, you would likely comb your hair far more than other people for that feeling of pleasure and satisfaction. Disrupting dopamine releases and dulling receptors of it also leads to diseases that are accepted as diseases such as Parkinson’s, clearly making the neurological transformation a potentially life threatening disease.
Excessive Cocaine use since 2015 has surged, making it the number one used illegal drug after marijuana nationwide, though with 12 states already putting marijuana legalization bills up for 2019, and most studies finding marijuana far less harmful than commonly held beliefs, it makes it essentially the number one used illicit drug. A study conducted by the University of Texas at San Antonio uncovered an interesting relationship between cocaine addiction and dopamine.
“By identifying [differences between normal dopamine release and cocaine’s immediate effects induced dopamine release], you can come up with pharmacological or behavior strategies so you can maintain normal responses for natural rewards but at the same time manage the response for drugs,” says Matthew Wanat, assistant professor in the Department of Biology at UTSA. Using mice, the study measured dopamine release of mice trained to do specific actions in order to get a dose of cocaine. Mice that performed actions even prior to gaining the cocaine had altered dopamine releases compared to the control group, showing that actions related to simply obtaining the drug had changed. The actions the mice had to endure were also designed to discourage the mice as well. These actions produced more dopamine, not less, illustrating some of cocaine’s lasting effects.
“We think there might be a change in the subjective value. It’s just perceived as less valuable. It fits in with the idea that you don’t like the drug as much, they [drug users] want it but they don’t like it as much as they would,”, Wanat added. The study, which helps unlock understanding of brain chemistry in relation to drug use, is to be published in the Journal of Neuroscience later this year.
Cocaine and other addictive substances cause over 80 thousand deaths a year. If you or someone you know is impacted or suffering from addiction in St. Louis, call Northbound at 855-858-6803 to speak with a counsellor who can discuss treatment options with you.
