Neural Sensitization

Like in my last blog entry I decided to revisit my entry titled What Causes Addiction?. The third cause that article mentioned is outlined below.

The article states that "neural sensitization… [causes] pathological “wanting” to take drugs". Through repeated use addicts alter their neural pathways causing them to be extra sensitive to drugs and drug triggers. The article goes on to suggest that when these sensitive systems are triggered the response may be completely implicit. This means that an addict may take actions without being conscious of their motivations. Unlike these implicit "wanting" signals, there are also explicit "wanting" reactions that manifest as drug cravings. These are often in the forefront of the addicts mind. The article states that the implicit reactions lead to the conscious experience of craving. The article makes an important distinction between "liking" and "wanting". Although an addict may want to be sober, once their brain is triggered the implicit and explicit systems kick in and the pathological "wanting" to use begins.

"Susceptibility to sensitization is determined by a host of factors, including genes, sex hormones, stress hormones, past trauma, etc., in addition to individualized patterns of drug exposure." This statement perhaps explains why some people can use highly addictive substances like heroin and meth without becoming addicted and others claim to be addicted after their first use. Everybody is different and a plethora of factors influence how are bodies and minds will react to use. Another very interesting thing is that once sensitization occurs for one substance, it is very easily transferred to other substances. The 12-step fellowships seems to have grasped this concept and encourage all members to be entirely sober even if they only had a problem with a specific substance. Often people will switch addictions and this offers a solid explanation as to why that might occur. People who become highly sensitized to drugs may also become highly sensitized to non-chemical stress, the article states that this may be why the risk for relapse is so high during periods of high stress.

This sensitization seems to permanently affect the addict and can perhaps explain why relapse is so common even after years of sobriety. An addict will remain hyper-sensitive to drugs and drug cues as well as stress. This is why "the addict might suddenly “want” to take drugs again regardless of cognitive expectancies about “liking,” declarative goals, absence of withdrawal, etc.".