Overview Substance use disorders represent complex phenotypes that result from the intricate interplay of genetic variation, neurobiological mechanisms, psychosocial variables, and environmental variables. To date, one of the least-studied factors has been genetic variation. However, basic research on the human…
Acknowledgments The authors greatly appreciate the editing assistance of medical student Sean Doherty of Cardiff University School of Medicine. Historical Perspectives Psychoactive substances derived from botanicals have been used ritualistically used for millennia. Developments during the second half of the…
Acknowledgments This research was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse grant #DA-03746. We gratefully acknowledge the efforts of Michaela Bamdad and Catalina Saldaña, who read an earlier version of the manuscript and made helpful suggestions. MG thanks the…
Mechanism of Action Methamphetamine is an indirect monoamine agonist that increases intracellular and extracellular levels of the monoamine neurotransmitters, dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Methamphetamine gains entry into neurons either as a substrate at plasmalemmal neurotransmitter transporters or via diffusion across…
History Opiates have been used for thousands of years, with evidence of opium poppy (known as Hul Gil, “joy plant”) cultivation more than 5000 years ago among the Sumerians in the area of Mesopotamia, near modern day Iraq. Its use…
Strategies for Selecting Candidate Medications for Testing Bottom–Up Approach: Modulation of Appetitive Drives Preclinical animal models of cocaine addiction, self-administration, reinstatement, and cue reactivity are commonly used to screen compounds for their potential as medications for treating cocaine dependence. These…
Introduction Alcohol was used in Egypt since the time of the pharaohs, when wine played an important part in ceremonial life. . Egyptian texts more than 8000-years-old made reference to alcohol abuse and its consequences. The ancient Greeks were also…
Acknowledgments We are grateful to Elsevier for permission to reproduce some text from a recent review article. We also thank the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism for its support through grants 5 R01 AA010522–14, 5 R01 AA012964–06, 5…
Acknowledgments Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Research and Development Service funds (RCS 00-001) supported preparation of the manuscript. The views expressed here are those of the author. Introduction Twelve-step mutual-help groups, often also called self-help or support groups, are…
Introduction Since we finished this chapter in 2012, there has been a notable gap in therapeutic community outcome research. Although systematic reviews of the research in recent years on the therapeutic community conclude that therapeutic communities produce positive outcomes on…