What Is Addiction? History, Terminology, and Core Concepts.

Medicine's acceptance of addiction as a medical concept has waxed and waned over time. Addiction, as a disease, fits with modern disease definitions and scientific advances in elucidating the interactions between neurobiology and environment. Definitions of addiction need to acknowledge the complex interactions of brain circuits, genetics, environmental factors, and individual life experiences. Addiction aligns with diagnostic categories of substance use disorders that do not rely on tolerance and withdrawal as defining characteristics. Shifts in social and political views of addiction continue to propel and mirror changes in addiction treatment approaches and terminology within the medical community.

Disparities in Addiction Treatment: Learning from the Past to Forge an Equitable Future.

The Half-Century long problem of addiction treatment disparities. We cannot imagine addressing disparities in addiction treatment without first acknowledging and deconstructing the etiology of this inequity. This article examines the history of addiction treatment disparities beginning with early twentieth-century drug policies. We begin by discussing structural racism, its contribution to treatment disparities, using opioid use disorder as a case study to highlight the importance of a structural competency framework in obtaining care. We conclude by discussing diversity in the workforce as an additional tool to minimizing disparities. Addiction treatment should be aimed at addressing care delivery in the context of the social, economic, and political determinants of health, which require appreciation of their historical origins to move toward equitable treatment.

From Confucianism to psychology: Rebooting Internet addicts in China.

Coined in the 1990s, the term "Internet addiction" encapsulates a brief but influential human history of technological advancement and psychological development. However, most studies have treated Internet addiction as a "global" concept in the realm of science without taking into consideration its sociocultural meanings and local history. In China, obsessive online gaming behavior among youth is viewed as a national issue of public health and social control. This article examines the special development of interventions to address Internet addiction in China within a broader local history of culturally inflected social control, market reform, the one-child policy, and psychology. Based on historical review and ethnographic data from a treatment center specializing in Internet addiction, this article presents a deep analysis of what Internet addiction means in Chinese lives. It argues that Internet addiction is, in fact, a cultural idiom of distress related to social control rather than a universal syndrome of self-control. It represents the dynamic interactions between Confucian family values and market reform, the one-child policy, and recent trends in psychology and technology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

[The War on "Red Drugs": Anticommunism and Drug Policy in Republic of Korea, 1945-1960].

This paper investigates the discourses and policies on narcotics in Republic of Korea from 1945 to 1960. Since the Liberation the narcotic problem was regarded as the vestige of Japanese imperialism. which was expected to be cleaned up. The image of narcotic crimes as the legacy of the colonial past was turned into as the result of the Red Army's tactics to attack on the liberalist camp around the Korean war. The government of ROK represented the source of the illegal drugs as the Red army and the spy from North Korea. The anticommunist discourse about narcotics described the spies, who introduced the enormous amount of poppies into ROK and brought about the addicts, as the social evil. Through this discourse on poppies from North Korea, the government of ROK emphasized the immorality of the communists reinforcing the anticommunist regime, which was inevitable for the government of ROK to legitimize the division of Korea and the establishment of the government alone. This paper examines how the discourses and policies on narcotics in ROK was shaped and transformed from 1945 to 1960 focusing the relationship between the them and the political context such as anticommunism, Korean war, the division of Korea, and etc. This approach would be helpful to reveal the effect of the ROK's own political situation to the public health system involving the management for drugs.

Reading Disorders: Pro-Eating Disorder Rhetoric and Anorexia Life-Writing.

This article explores the relationship between eating disorders and reading behaviors, arguing that there is a meaningful difference in a minority of readers' approach to and understanding of anorexia life-writing, and of literary texts more broadly. To illuminate this distinction, this article begins by considering the reported deleterious influence of Marya Hornbacher's anorexia memoir, Wasted, elaborating the ways Hornbacher offers a positive presentation of anorexia nervosa that may, intentionally or not, induce certain readers to "try it" themselves. This is followed by an exploration of how Hornbacher's own reading praxis is implicated in a discursive feedback loop around anorexia narratives. It concludes with a discussion of disordered reading attitudes in relation to the emergence of the "pro-anorexia" phenomenon.

Back by Popular Demand: A Narrative Review on the History of Food Addiction Research.

In recent years, the concept of food addiction has gained more and more popularity. This approach acknowledges the apparent parallels between substance use disorders and overeating of highly palatable, high-caloric foods. Part of this discussion includes that "hyperpalatable" foods may have an addictive potential because of increased potency due to certain nutrients or additives. Although this idea seems to be relatively new, research on food addiction actually encompasses several decades, a fact that often remains unrecognized. Scientific use of the term addiction in reference to chocolate even dates back to the 19th century. In the 20th century, food addiction research underwent several paradigm shifts, which include changing foci on anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, obesity, or binge eating disorder. Thus, the purpose of this review is to describe the history and state of the art of food addiction research and to demonstrate its development and refinement of definitions and methodologies.

Gambling in the Czech Republic.

AIM: To provide an overview of gambling and associated problems in the Czech Republic, including an overview of the historical context, legislation, prevalence, treatment and research base and agenda. METHODS: A review of literature and relevant sources. RESULTS: The trajectory of gambling patterns in the territory of the Czech Republic in the 20th century reflected broad socio-political changes. Those included significant expansion between the wars, strict state control and bans on some gambling activities during the communist regime and finally dynamic development characterized by a boom in electronic gaming machines (EGMs) and increasing accessibility of gambling facilities after 1989, which aggravated gambling-related problems. Many municipalities have banned EGMs, which has created conflict in regulation at state and municipal levels. The draft gambling law prepared in 2014 aims to clarify the regulatory framework. Before 2012 there was only sporadic research interest in gambling, but in 2012 the first complex research on gaming and problem gambling in the Czech population took place. The estimated prevalence of problem gambling is currently 2% in the population aged 15-64 years. Preventive measures, counselling and treatment services for problem gamblers are limited. CONCLUSIONS: Weak and ineffective regulation of the gambling market in the Czech Republic during the past 20 years, despite the large growth in gambling, has led to inadequate prevention and response to problem gambling which has become a considerable public health, social and political issue.

Images by the vineyard: images of addiction and substance users in the media and other culture sites/sights.

This article constitutes a discovery journey into the world of drinking images, the pleasures and harms related to consuming alcoholic beverages, as well as the relationships between drinking and spirituality. These aspects are described historically and globally, over time through a series of snapshots and mini-discussions about both visual and mental images from art, classical literature and operatic music.The images are interpreted according to how they represent the drinking culture within which they were created and sustained, and how they are able to involve the spectator and the user in terms of either empathizing, accepting and including or distancing, stigmatizing and marginalizing the user.

To hell and back: excessive drug use, addiction, and the process of recovery in mainstream rock autobiographies.

Rock autobiographies have become increasingly popular since the 1990s. This article analyzes 31 mainstream rock autobiographies describing a wide variety of legal and illegal substances used and reckless behavior. Narrative analysis shows that books concentrate on recovering from addiction. The majority of writers have participated in some kind of treatment. Rock autobiographies use therapeutic vocabulary and borrow discursive elements from culturally familiar Alcoholics Anonymous texts recounting recovery stories. The analysis shows that drugs and alcohol are not associated with rebellion and authenticity as they once were in rock music. Surviving addiction has become a key theme of rock culture.

Aspects of psychodynamic neuropsychiatry IV: love, ripe fruit, and other addictions.

Passionate love is a powerful emotional/biological force. So too is heart-break a powerful emotional/biological force. This article studies the neurobiological underpinnings of the two. The argument is that passionate love is best understood not as an affective dysregulation but rather as an addiction. And similarly that heart-break is best understood, and treated, not as an affective dysregulation but as an addiction. Clinical examples are given.

Toma de decisiones en pacientes drogodependientes / Decision-making in drug-dependent patients

Introducción. La hipótesis del marcador somático propone que existen señales corporales que guían los procesos de toma de decisiones en un sentido adaptativo para el organismo. Para ver la influencia de estos marcadores sobre la toma de decisiones se ha utilizado la prueba “Iowa Gambling Task”, la cual se ha comprobado su alta sensibilidad a deterioros en la toma de decisiones de pacientes drogodependientes. Objetivo. Valorar el rendimiento de una muestra de pacientes drogodependientes en una tarea sensible a la medición del proceso de toma de decisiones, para ver si existen alteraciones significativas, y comparar el rendimiento de estos pacientes con el de personas no consumidoras (en la versión normal e invertida). Método. La muestra estaba formada por 66 personas (33 drogodependientes y 33 participantes controles). Se utilizó una entrevista semiestructurada sobre variables sociodemográficas y dos versiones de la tarea “Cartas”, versión computerizada de la Iowa Gambling Task. Resultados. Se dan diferencias significativas entre el grupo control y experimental en la ejecución de la tarea normal pero no en la inversa. El 75,76% de los pacientes drogodependientes presentan deterioro en la ejecución de la tarea frente a un 24,24% que la realizan de forma adecuada. Discusión. Los resultados indican la presencia de alteraciones en los procesos de toma de decisiones de los pacientes drogodependientes, mostrando éstos un rendimiento menor que el grupo control. Esto puede ser debido a una dificultad para generar estados somáticos en función de las posibles consecuencias futuras (miopía hacia el futuro) en los pacientes drogodependientes (AU)

Introduction. The somatic marker hypothesis proposes that certain body signals guide decision-making processes in an adaptive direction. To see the influence of these markers on decision-making we used the Iowa Gambling Task, through which several studies have shown impaired decision-making in drug-dependent patients. Objective. To assess the performance of a sample of drug-dependent patients in a task that is sensitive to the measurement of decision-making process, so as to see whether there are significant alterations, and to compare the performance of these patients with that of non-users (in the normal and inverted versions). Method. The sample consisted of 66 people (33 addicts and 33 control participants). We used a semi-structured interview on socio-demographic variables and two versions of the “Cartas” task, a computerised version of the Iowa Gambling Task. Result. Significant differences were found between the control and experimental groups in execution of the normal task, but not of the inverted version. In total, 75.76% of the drug-dependent patients showed impaired task performance, as against 24.24% who performed it correctly. Discussion. The results indicate the presence of alterations in the decision-making processes of drug-dependent patients, who did not perform as well as the control group. This may be due to difficulty in generating somatic states according to possible future consequences (myopia about the future) inpatients addicted to drugs (AU)

"We mentally ill smoke a lot": identity, smoking, and mental illness in America.

Most of the history of the tobacco industry over the last few decades has focused on the conflicts between tobacco industry leaders who promoted smoking and tobacco control advocates who warned of the health consequences. Yet a view of this conflict from the perspective of smokers who are also mentally ill raises questions about how to frame public health policy for these individuals. Mentally ill consumers wrote to the tobacco industry between the 1970s and 1990s and expressed their commitment to smoking and to cigarette companies, despite their awareness of the health risks. This paper explores the relationship between mentally ill consumers, the tobacco industry, and public health in the United States through letters written by mentally ill smokers.

Taming the ketamine tiger. 1965.

Pharmacologic actions of CI-581, a chemical derivative of phencyclidine, were determined in 20 volunteers from a prison population. The results indicate that this drug is an effective analgesic and anesthetic agent in doses of 1.0 to 2.0 mg per kilogram. With intravenous administration the onset of action is within 1 min and the effects last for about 5 to 10 min, depending on dosage level and individual variation. No tachyphylaxis was evident on repeat doses. Respiratory depression was slight and transient. Hypertension, tachycardia, and psychic changes are undesirable characteristics of the drug. Whether these can be modified by preanesthetic medication was not determined in this study. Recovery from analgesia and coma usually took place within 10 min, although from electroencephalographic evidence it may be assumed that subjects were not completely normal until after 1 to 2 h. No evidence of liver or kidney toxicity was obtained. CI-581 produces pharmacologic effects similar to those reported for phencyclidine, but of shorter duration. The drug deserves further pharmacologic and clinical trials. It is proposed that the words "dissociative anesthetic" be used to describe the mental state produced by this drug.