01:830:364 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Addiction
Document Summary
Escalation of drug taking is often accompanied by changes in the users emotional reactions related to the drug. If the user finds the drug"s effects to be pleasurable or rewarding, then the user may decide to repeat the use of the drug. The majority of users maintain this status controlled, managed, occasional use of the drug. They take the drug only when they decide to do it. Nosological progression into drug abuse beyond repeated drug use. For some individuals, repeated acts of drug-taking results in further elevation of drug use. Escalation of drug-taking is often accompanied by changes in the user"s emotional reactions related to the drug: Wanting, needing, cravings, and urges, particularly when in the presence of drug-related stimuli. Repeated drug use (escalation) is often accompanied by changes in the cognitive processes involved in the act of drug-taking: Drug-taking becomes less decision-based and more automatic. Drug-taking occurs without thought, without conscious awareness of the intention to take the drug.
