Biological Basis of Addiction
Christine Foster, LMSW
Children’s Therapist
Effects of Substance Abuse:
Conception – Age 11
Photo courtesy of Sterling Clarren, MD – Brain at 6 wks
Faces in Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
What we see What we think
What may be really What we can do
going on
► Doesn’t
follow rules
▪Noncompliance
▪Attention Seeking
▪Stubborn
▪Purposeful
●Difficulty translating ♦Check for understanding
verbal directions into ♦Repeat instructions
action
♦Simplify tasks
●Cognitive deficit
► Repeatedly
▪Manipulative
▪Doing it on purpose
▪Willful
●Not able to link
cause and effect
●Difficulty
generalizing
► Poor social
judgment
▪Attention Seeking
▪Poorly parented
▪Impulsive
●Not able to interpret ♦Role play
social cues
♦Identify safe external
●Desire to be liked
support/s
♦Safety planning
►Easily
agitated
▪Poor self control
▪Deviant
●Frustrated
●Disappointed
●Mental health issue
makes the same
mistakes
♦Provide assistance with
organization
♦Structure choices
♦Teach self advocacy
♦Identify and practice
coping
techniques
Texas Office for Prevention of Developmental Disabilities
Don’t Talk
Don’t Trust
Don’t Deal
Don’t Feel
How do people get better from
alcohol and drugs?
Effects of Substance Abuse: Ages 12-25
Apoptosis = Pruning
200 billion to 100 billion
HYPOFRONTALITY:
when Dopamine spikes the cortex actually shuts off
How do
drugs & alcohol effect
the brain during the
pruning process?
Limbic System
Fight or Flight
Pleasurable Experiences: Dopamine
Dopamine Release
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Food
Sex
Cocaine
Meth
100%
150%
350%
1100%
If you arrest here but stop using here
Age 12
Arrested Development Effects
 Stuck in psychosocial
stage of development
 10% Decrease in
Hippocampus functioning
(converts information to
memory)
 Increased social
disinhibition
 Risky, impulsive behavior
 Poor planning &
judgment
 Little ability to weigh
consequences
Developmental Age of Parents
Parents with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Teen Parents
Parents with Arrested Development
Practical Applications
• Connect Client to Appropriate Service
– Parent Coaching, Individual Therapy, In or
Outpatient Treatment,12-step, ACA, Alanon
• Connect Child to Appropriate Service
– Play Therapy, High Risk Classes, Individual or
Family Therapy
• Teach Parents Executive Functioning Skills
• Teach Parents To Teach Executive Functioning
Skills
Tools for Working with Families
• Play: A child’s work
• Patterned, Repetitive, Predictable &
Rhythmic
• Praise Executive Functioning in Parents
• Teach Parents What To Say During Family
Dinners
• Behavior Modification Contracts
Dopamine-Releasing Chemicals
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Alcohol & Sedative/Hypnotics
Opiates/Opioids
Cocaine
Amphetamines
Entactogens (MDMA)
Entheogens/Hallucinogens
Dissociants (PCP, Ketamine)
Cannabinoids
Inhalants
Nicotine
Caffeine
Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids
Prefrontal Cortex Thinking:
Executive Functioning
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Abstract; conceptual understanding
Impulse Control
Problem-Solving
Decision-Making
Judgment
Emotion Regulation/Frustration Tolerance
Ability to Feel Empathy
References
•Califano Jr., Joseph (2009),How to Raise a Drug-Free Kid, The Straight
Dope for Parents.
•Giedd. J. N. (2004).Structural magnetic resonance imaging of the
adolescent brain. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1021,
77-85.
•Spear, L. P. (2002). Alcohol’s effects on adolescents. Alcohol Health
and Research World, 26 (4), 287-291.
Suggested Reading
•Dahl, R.E. & Spear, L.P. (Eds.) (2004). Adolescent brain development:
vulnerabilities and opportunities. New York: Annals of the New York
Academy of Sciences, Volume 1021.
•Dubuc, B. (n.d.).The brain from top to bottom. McGill University web
site:
•http://www.thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/index_d.html
•http://www.childtraumaacademy.com/amazing_brain/index.html
•http://fasdcenter.samhsa.gov
•http://nofas.org
•Landreth, G. (2002). Play Therapy: The Art of the Relationship.
Brunner Routledge.
•Nestler, E. J., & Malenka, R. C. (2004, March). The addicted brain.
Scientific American, 290 (3), 78-85.
•Underwood, N. (2009). The teenage brain: Why adolescents sleep in,
take risks, and won’t listen to reason. The Walrus Magazine.
•Wallis, C. (2004, May 10). What makes teens tick? Time, 163, 57-65.
•Walsh, D. (2004). Why do they act that way? A survival guide to the
adolescent brain for you and your teen. New York: Free Press.