by Kai Gohil U6P
Abstract
Societal systematic problems represent all challenges and issues entrenched in modern society, spanning a vast course from racism to homelessness. This essay aims to tackle the pervasive issue of addiction, delving beneath the veneer of a pitch-perfect civilisation and intending to burrow through the ubiquitous haze of addiction rooted in our psychology, physiology, and population. With a large concentration of the essay delves into the biological origins of addiction. Specifically, outlining the problem of addiction within anthropology, baselining the issues of addictive behaviours as an upcoming global apocalypse. Furthermore, this dissertation examines the rising problem of addiction among youth, honing into the pattern of addictive behaviours emerging within our future generation. Additionally, the biopsychological explanation of psychological dependence is explored as an elucidation of how addictive behaviours develop and progress. This is followed up by the idea of neurofeedback to inform a solution to combat struggling patients with repetitive, compulsive behaviours.
Introduction
Addiction is defined as the process whereby a behaviour, which can function both to produce pleasure and to provide an escape from internal discomfort, is employed in a pattern characterised by:
Recurrent failure to control the behaviour (powerlessness).
Continuance of the same behaviour despite significant negative consequences (unmanageability of behaviours)
(Psychology of Addictive Behaviors)
Contrary to public expectations, addiction differs significantly from cravings, as the latter term refers to a 'powerful' urge to behave in a certain way rather than addiction, which is presented as an uncontrollable, irresistible compulsion to act in a certain way. Hence, it is understandable why multiple sources define addiction as a disease (American Medical Association, 1987) and, more recently, a chronic illness (American Society of Addiction Medicine, 2011) and a neurological disorder. The latter descriptions are more of the focus within this essay, due to the removal of behavioural decisions as the sole contributor to addictive personalities, but accept and acknowledge the neurobiological aspect of addiction.
As expected, addiction is a rising problem. In England, there were 275,896 adults in contact with drug and alcohol services between April 2020 and March 2021 (data from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System). This expanding epidemic is yet to stop here, however, as addiction begins to root itself into the youth, plaguing not only the present but the future. Globally, approximately 5.5% of the population aged 15 to 64 years has used drugs at least once in the past year (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime).
Alternately, the sole focus of this paper is not exclusively addiction to substances, but addiction as a whole. Therefore, there is an undoubtedly need to mention the addictions present in the contemporary epoch; this would include addiction to various vices ranging from social media, gambling, adult films, and mobile devices. A key exemplar is the youth in China, a highly modernised community, where research evidence highlights that approximately 39.7% of surveyed students were identified as having a smartphone addiction (Liu, H., et al., 2022). This not only illustrates the smartphone addiction sprouting among the global population but likewise the increasingly dangerous addictive personality of the youth.
Thus, worries and concerns for civilization's seemingly loosened stance on such a rampant neurological disorder are completely justified; therefore, this subject matter must be delved into with greater scrutiny.
The Influx of Youth Addiction
Indubitably, the surrounding population recognises the briefly aforementioned adolescent addiction problem. However, a collective blind eye tends to be shunned upon those who are labelled (potentially incorrectly) as 'addicts'; for example, research by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs highlights the underwhelming lack of social connectedness and support for those who misuse drugs, or perhaps experience homelessness, resulting in the by-product of reduced mainstream benefits, health services, and social care: social disparity.
Note that the evidence presented is not directly related to the problem of addiction among our youth and could be suggested to be slightly contrived; however, the societal bias against those perceived to be inferior, or perhaps irresponsible, which can be argued about our current generation, still stands.
This key establishment of the lack of support and unity between the general public and so-called 'addicts' profiles the analysis of the effect of addiction on our youth. Logically, how could one argue the consequences of a problem without the establishment of the problem itself?
Since this essay will be dissecting the biological origins of addictions, it is only fitting to focus on the same topic when examining the effects of addiction on youth.
A key effect of rising addiction among youth is the destruction of their impressionable neurochemistry and physiology. Children tend to possess the highest neuroplasticity (the ability of the brain to reorganise and form new neural connections), particularly during the first few years of life and continuing throughout adolescence (Diane Ruge, Li-Min Liou, and Damon Hoad, 2012). Thus, having our youth fuelled and driven by addictions to multiple vices would have immense effects on neuroplasticity and neurological functioning in the short and long term. Due to having such high impressionability, addiction would lead to long-lasting effects on their neural circuits, conversely affecting synaptic plasticity (the ability of synapses to strengthen and weaken) and also learning (Masoumeh Kourosh-Arami, Alireza Komaki, and Masoumeh Gholami, 2022). The use of addictive substances would create persistent forms of synaptic plasticity, leading to the long-term depression (LDP) of synapses, in turn causing a reduced synaptic response to future stimuli (Arianna Maffei, 2018). This would have a significant effect on motor development and learning, and considering the future directly depends on our youth having the ability to adapt and acquire skills within a workforce, rising addiction levels among youth do not augur well with the future of society.
Addiction and psychological dependency
Needless to say, the link between addiction and psychological dependence is clear, so this section explores it through a biological lens.
To delineate, psychological dependence refers to the emotional and mental components of mainly substance use disorder (however, behavioural addictions are included), such as yearning compulsions for the substance or behaviour that prevent the mind (in this case, different from the brain) from thinking about other topics. In some cases, it can be fittingly referred to as 'psychological addiction'. Neurologically, addictions affect (though difficult to state directly causal due to this notion being reductionist) psychological dependence through the altering of the concentrations and distribution of neurotransmitters, particularly those mentioned in the reward system (Psychology of Addiction). Taking cocaine, a highly addictive drug, as an example, during the consumption of the narcotic, dopamine (generally referred to as the reward or motivator hormone) is released in copious amounts, resulting in exciting sensations of pleasure and alertness. Subsequently, it would produce a neuronal counter-adaption (the reduced sensitivity of sensory neurons), requiring a greater dose of the drug to produce the same level of reward (A. I. Golovko, S. I. Golovko, & L. V. Leontieva, 2007). Furthermore, this would reduce the natural production of dopamine and so would leave a person feeling anxious, stressed, and depressed when they are unable to be satisfied with their addictive material (substance or behaviour), in this case, cocaine. Ultimately, a cycle of psychological dependence is created—a person now seeks the same addictive material to satisfy negative emotions and to experience positive ones.
In addition, the multifaceted nature of addiction would result in various adjustments to human thought within the scope of psychological dependence. Ostensibly, an 'addict' would certainly begin to think irrationally, as per the definition of addiction; nevertheless, this is not the only change to human reasoning. Revisiting our example of the cocaine 'addict', as a result of such a strong psychological dependence, the drug would likely reduce focus, attention span, and concentration in various fields of work as a result of the constant need to appease their dopamine deficit. Consequently, human thought is interrupted and clouded due to an extreme addiction to a reinforced stimulus.
Changing Addiction
Given the sensitive nature of the topic of addiction, measures put in place to treat and combat such an issue need to be approached with care. As a result, the overwhelming solution to addiction within the biological area of psychology gravitates towards neurofeedback. This involves a type of biofeedback (the measurement of key bodily functions using sensors attached to the body) that utilises real-time brain imaging (i.e., using a fMRI scanner) to monitor and then modify brain activity (Nora D. Volkow, M.D., Maureen Boyle, PhD, 2018). Neurofeedback adopts the notion that addiction is due to abnormalities in brain activity, including the overstimulation of the reward system, the lack of activation of the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in decision-making (Bechara, A., et al., 1994 & 1999), and altered connectivity between the brain regions (Hayes, A., et al., 2020).
One way neurofeedback can help those with addiction involves providing patients with visual or auditory feedback on their brain activity, which can help them learn to self-regulate their brain states, in turn reducing psychological dependence (Nora D. Volkow, M.D., Maureen Boyle, PhD, 2018). Furthermore, neurofeedback can also enhance cognitive control, motivation, and emotional regulation, which can reduce cravings, impulsions, and the risk of relapsing. Additionally, the suggested solution can normalise brain function and structure (e.g., hormone levels), which can improve emotional, cognitive, and behavioural responses to addictive stimuli (Hayes, A., et al., 2020).
Conclusion
Recognising the depth to which addiction is so culturally and anthropogenically embedded highlights the need to discern the issue through a psychological lens. Using the results obtained, adequate and informed resolutions to the problem of addiction can be made. Given that addiction is becoming more prevalent in society, the same cannot be said for the support systems in place to combat these problems, especially for the younger generations, who have become conditioned to form psychological dependence on a variety of vices. Though the thought of an addiction dystopia is attracting increased attention, psychology provides solutions to steer away from such a future. The use of neurofeedback has been researched and peer-reviewed and has been shown to improve cognitive control over addictive stimuli; hence, it should be considered to prevent the impending addiction apocalypse.
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