Feihu Yan

12/6/19
Brain: A User’s Guide
Second Paper
Aspects of Drug Addiction

One of the most informative topics in this class for me the introduction of the

phenomenon of addiction to the brain and just how much this phenomenon is an extremely

multifaceted problem with arguably distinct physical, psychological as well as social dimensions.

What I perceived to be the physical dimension regarding addiction deals with how different types

of drugs affect the specific functioning of the brain in significant ways. The social dimension

includes local culture and societal attitudes towards drugs and how much it influences peoples’

decision to try different drugs. Particularly, I think a careful examination of the consequences of

drugs is important especially in college, where teenagers grows out of their families and are in

the process of becoming independent decision makers. Out of peer pressure, the desire to fit in

will cause many to try to use drugs. Furthermore, extreme stress and anxiety is very prevalent in

college years. According to the lecture that focused on stress and anxiety, though some amount

of stress and trained ability to cope with stress is an important asset, too much stress can lead to

more serious problems that might cause an abuse of drugs. Staying informed about drugs helps

tremendously.

It is rather unbelievable just how many people still perceive the mechanism of addiction

as a mental lack of lack of will. Addiction is defined in class by Professor Azmitia as “an

uncontrollable compulsion for repeated drug usage regardless of its negative consequences.”

Upon listen in the lecture on addiction, we were educated that addiction involves strong physical

reactions within the brain that is not a lack of will, but rather concrete chemical reactions within

the brain. It is important to point out the term “uncontrollable” in the definition; the concept,
 Feihu Yan
12/6/19
Brain: A User’s Guide
Second Paper
drug dependence, is coined because the frequent usage of drug alters the brain so that the brain

literally cannot function normally without the use of the drug. A sudden stop of drug use will

cause withdrawal due to a lack of chemical balance within the body, which can cause severe

health symptoms that significantly impact all spheres of the subject’s life.

Discussing just the physical aspect of addiction requires us to know what types of drugs

are indeed physically addictive and what types of drugs are not. From the lecture, we learned that

narcotics, depressants and stimulants are addictive while dissociative, psychedelics are not. For

example, opioids is a kind of narcotic that affects a large amount of people. To be completely

accurate, thirty-four million people used opiates at least once during 2016.

Every human have opioid receptors in the brain and throughout the central nervous

system which serves as receptors that saliently function to reduce pain and produce a feeling of

euphoria. The body, specifically the human brain produces endogenous opioids that act on opioid

receptors. The drug provides reduction of pain and a feeling of euphoria as well. Although the

effects of this drug seems harmless, each time someone takes the drug simply increases the

tolerance of the subjects towards the drug. Tolerance is an important concept for any discussion

of addiction because addicts usually have high tolerance as repeated drug use has decreased the

physical effect of the same amount of drug than the exact amount before. Thus this develop a

recurring cycle that increase the tolerance to a very dramatic level. The body develop

homeostasis with the repeated and increased drug use and it is extremely hard to quit. This is a

classic case of addiction that illustrate how addiction involves a complex chemical reactions in

the brain.
 Feihu Yan
12/6/19
Brain: A User’s Guide
Second Paper
That being said, I believe there is still a psychological factor in addiction, even though I

am not naive to claim that psychological addiction and physical addiction are completely

separate types of addictions. It is often difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish the difference

between the two categories. Being a philosophy major myself, I fully realize that the concept of

free will or physical determinism is certainly a very complicated topic that requires so much

more research to understand and length to exposite. I understand that scientists are prone to be

physicalists about the human body, but we still haven’t completely solve the puzzle of the human

body, including the human rationality and the phenomenon of consciousness. I believe there is a

psychological factor that doesn't involve say, for opioid, and all the chemical reaction is in the

opioid receptors in the central nervous system.

For example, let us imagine someone who does not have a good history of self-control in

many spheres of life such as eating or drinking is addicted to opioid. Then we can imagine that

he has gone through rehab and declared recovered from drug addiction physically, in which case

the person’s body does not require the drug to function properly anymore and does not have

withdrawal anymore from not using the drug. In other words, the body functions normally and

does not crave the drug and does not express physical symptoms of withdrawal such as muscle

aches, sweating, etc. However, simply imagining the effects of opioid drugs in previous cases

and succumbing to social pressure is a very realistic possibility. I think we should take care of

this aspect of the addiction as well in treatment, but it is simply a suggestion. I don’t think I have

done the work to investigate deeper into this issue, not do I think I have the ability to reach any

definite conclusion, it is just my personal curiosity, which also leads me to my next paragraph.
 Feihu Yan
12/6/19
Brain: A User’s Guide
Second Paper
I also have a personal interest in the social influences in addiction because some of my

friends are actually addicts themselves. Drug uses are usually initiated by social factors such as

peer pressure. It is also true, from my experience, that drug addicts usually deny that they have

an addiction. I find the societal attitude toward drug abuse frightening, because the disapproving

gaze puts shame on the addicted person. Similar to depression, the depressed person might seem

like a normal person, he/she almost never wants to present the unhealthy side of him/her to other

people, including close friends and families. The more shameful one find something about

himself/herself, the more he/she wants to hide it and pretend that he/she is completely fine.

Moreover, addicts are also sensitive to their addictions, which makes communication and helping

them very difficult.

In conclusion, during this school semester, lectures concerning drug use and drug abuses

left me a deep impression and made me realize just how complex the human brain is. The

research on drug uses is still in its infancy, I believe, with lots of resources online that have

conflicting information. I wish to learn more and stay informed on the most current scientific

research on addiction.

References:
https://www.addictionsandrecovery.org/relapse-prevention.htm
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000949.htm