Part 1 This excellent review (1) covers many of the brain regions we have discussed as being implicated in all the addictive behaviours. We have previously suggested also that these brain regions are connected in impaired decision making deficits and that these deficits in decision making are […]
PART 2 Following on from the role of memory system in PTSD and simialr psychopathologies (and disorders with which PTSD is also co-occurring) “We propose a similar mechanism may underlie the development and persistence of some PTSD symptoms The traumatic memories of PTSD patients can be deficient […]
PART 1 This most excellent article (1) explains how two main memory systems relate to two manifestations related to PTSD, the enhancement and the impairment of traumatic memory which may be difficult to explain via a unitary model of memory, but these seemingly antagonistic effects can […]
Part 1 Here we have a comprehensive but hypothetical review of what effect mindfulness meditation may be having on the addicted brain. First we look at areas of the brain effected in addiction and in relapse before looking at how mindfulness meditation may, via mediation based neuro plasticity […]
In various blogs we have suggested that one of the main aspects of addictive behaviours is to act as the result of distress-based impulsivity or negative urgency. Here we explore in more details what we mean by that term negative urgency. Here we borrow from one article (1) […]
We recently blogged on how alcoholics, and children of alcoholics, have difficulty with recognizing and differentiating external signs of emotions such as facial emotional expressions, now we will consider increasing evidence that alcoholics have difficulties with identifying and differentiating internal emotional states also. Both these areas of research point […]
In the first in a series of blogs we discuss the topic of why does the solution to one’s alcoholism and addiction require a spiritual recovery. This is a much asked question within academic research, although the health benefits of meditation are well known and life styles incorporating […]
A neural basis of so-called Alcoholic Denial? by alcoholicsguide Clinicians and treatment providers working with addicted individuals often talk about addicts denying their condition at least part of the time. Although denial has often been conceptualised within a psycho-analytic framework as being a defense mechanism guarding against anxiety some research suggests […]
Involuntary retrieval of drug related thoughts is a hallmark of addicted populations. Intensity of obsessive thoughts about alcohol predict relapse rate (1), with addicts motivated to use drugs to “silence” obsessive thoughts (2). The idea that abstinence automatically decreases alcohol-related thoughts is challenged by research (3) and supported […]
Emotional dysregulation and altered reward sensitivity may underpin impulsive behavior and poor decision-making. Both of these tendencies can be seen in the “real-world” behavior of addicted individuals, but can also be studied using laboratory-based paradigms. Addiction is associated with a loss of control over drug use which continues in […]
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