The Neurobiology of Addiction

by Robbins, Trevor; Everitt, Barry; Nutt, David

• ISBN13: 9780199562152
• ISBN10: 0199562156
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-04-12
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

In the past two decades, there have been astonishing advances in our understanding of the neurobiological basis and nature of drug addiction. We now know the initial molecular sites of action, at identified receptors, of virtually all of the major drugs of abuse including cocaine, heroin, and amphetamine, as well as legal drugs such as nicotine and alcohol. We also understand the main components of a 'reward system' and its connections to major brain regions involved in motivation and emotion, such as the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex. The Neurobiology of Addictiondescribes the latest advances in our understanding of addiction. It brings together world class researchers to debate the nature and extent of addiction, as well as its causes, consequences, and treatment. The focus of the book is on the brain processes underlying addiction, in terms of neural systems, neurochemical basis, and molecular changes. Several types of addiction are discussed ranging from illicit drugs - cocaine, amphetamine, and heroin to legal drugs - alcohol and nicotine. In addition, it explores increasingly common behavioural addictions such as gambling and obesity. Included are chapters on vulnerability to addiction, genetic factors, opponent motivational processes, animal models, relapse, cognitive deficits associated with drug abuse, new pharmacological treatments, and current controversies concerning different neuropsychological theories of addiction. Throughout, it reports on cutting edge research using brain imaging, and state of the art molecular methodology. The book will make fascinating reading for students and teachers in the field of neuroscience, pharmacology and psychology, as well as experts in the field.

Author Biography

Professor Robbins is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and Head of the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Cambridge. He is also Director of the Cambridge MRC-Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute (BCNI), the main objective of which is to inter-relate basic and clinical research in psychiatry and neurology for such conditions as Parkinson's, Huntington's, and Alzheimer's diseases, frontal lobe injury, schizophrenia, depression, drug addiction, and developmental syndromes such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The BCNI has a particular focus on pharmacological treatments in neuropsychiatry and neurological disorders and how they actually work. Trevor has been President of the European Behavioural Pharmacology Society (1992-1994) and he won that Society's inaugural Distinguished Achievement Award in 2001. He was also President of the British Association of Psychopharmacology from 1996 to 1997. He a Fellow of the Royal Society David is currently the Edmond J Safra Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology and Head of the Department of Neuropsychopharmacology and Molecular Imaging at Imperial College London
He received his undergraduate training in medicine at Cambridge and Guy's Hospital, and continued training in neurology to MRCP. After completing his psychiatric training in Oxford, he continued there as a lecturer and then later as a Wellcome Senior Fellow in psychiatry. He then spent two years as Chief of the Section of Clinical Science in the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in NIH, Bethesda, USA. On returning to England in 1988 he set up the Psychopharmacology Unit in Bristol, an interdisciplinary research grouping spanning the departments of Psychiatry and Pharmacology. In December 2008 he joined Imperial College London as the Edmond J Safra Chair in Neuropsychopharmacology to concentrate on development of PET imaging. Professor Everitt graduated in Zoology and Psychology at Hull University, received a Ph.D. from the University of Birmingham, and undertook post-doctoral research at Birmingham and at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, with the eminent neuroanatomists Tomas Hokfelt and Kjell Fuxe. He was appointed to the Department of Anatomy at the University of Cambridge in 1974, became a Fellow of Downing College in 1976, a tenured University Lecturer and a Director of Studies in Medicine at Downing in 1979. He has served on several national and international advisory committees and has been President of the British Association for Psychopharmacology, the European Brain and Behaviour Society and the European Behavioural Pharmacology Society. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS), a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci), and has been awarded an Honorary D.Sc. by Hull University

Table of Contents

Contributors	p. vii
Introduction: The neurobiology of drug addiction - new vistas	p. 1
Theories of Drug Addiction
Neurobiological mechanisms for opponent motivational processes in addiction	p. 7
Neural mechanisms underlying the vulnerability to develop compulsive drug-seeking habits and addiction	p. 25
The incentive-sensitization theory of addiction: Some current issues	p. 45
The neurobiology of relapse	p. 61
Extending the Concept of Addiction
Neurobiology of nicotine dependence	p. 85
Cognitive and emotional consequences of binge drinking: Role of amygdala and prefrontal cortex	p. 101
The neurobiology of pathological gambling and drug addiction: An overview and new findings	p. 119
Overlapping neuronal circuits in addiction and obesity: Evidence of systems pathology	p. 135
Vulnerability to Drug Abuse
Neurogenetic studies of alcohol addiction	p. 153
Genetics of addictions: Strategies for addressing heterogeneity and polygenicity of substance use disorders	p. 171
Characterizing organism × environment interactions in non-human primate models of addiction: PET imaging studies of dopamine D2 receptors	p. 187
Context-induced relapse to drug seeking: A review	p. 203
Causes and Consequences of Addiction
Transcriptional mechanisms of addiction: Role of ¿FosB	p. 223
Parallel studies of neural and cognitive impairment in humans and monkeys	p. 241
Acute effects of cocaine on the neurobiology of cognitive control	p. 257
Evidence-based treatments of addiction	p. 273
Concluding summary and discussion: New vistas	p. 289
Index	p. 299
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.