Biological Components Of Alcoholism Essay

Improved Essays
The biological components of alcoholism are in neurobiological. Research has changed the technique in how to understanding addiction. Alcoholism isn’t restricted to challenging substance use. Addiction is a problem within the brain addicted occurs due to the chemicals our brain releases, not the substance or activity that causes this release. Our genetics greatly determine our brain functioning. The American Society of Addictions Medicine (ASAM) is devoted to treating and avoiding addiction. ASAM states that genetics is 50% of the cause of someone developing an addiction. ASAM defines addiction as a "chronic disease of the brain." Alcoholism causes changes to the brain's natural balance alters brain chemistry, changes the brain's communication forms, and causes changes to brain structures and their functioning. (The Biological Causes of Alcoholism. (n.d.). The cognitive functioning in alcoholism impairment may result from the effects of alcohol on the brain, body and manners of the …show more content…
The national center of genetics and national research council (US) and institute of medicine (US) each stated how environment and genetics affect the development of an addiction. The American Society of Addictions Medicine (ASAM) states that the addiction gene can be triggered by work, life, emotional distress causing the addiction trigger to be ignited. Each of these Institutes allowed for me to draw my conclusion. The impact of the media, the home environment and biology greatly affect in an individual will become addicted. The national institute on alcohol abuse and alcoholism (NIAAA) states that an individual must have a specific genetic structure in order to take medication to remain sober. Having medication help those with a genetic structure is an improvement in allowing those who desire to be sober not struggle as much. This is one small step for those battling

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Lydia Chakalos Professor J. Hughes English 120 16 October 2016 Rough Draft of Pro/ Con Essay The topic, addiction, is very stigmatized. In the article, “Addiction Is Not A Disease” By Gene M. Heyman, he takes the opposing side of Michael Craig Miller’s, “Addiction Is A Brain Disease”.…

    • 1167 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    and rankings that result in impact factors with substance abuse. The second article focuses on the cognitive behaviors of one who drinks extensive amounts of alcohol. Their have been studies that show people who drink at a relatively early age tend to have lower IQ’s and drop out of school. Studies suggest that there is poor cognitive functioning, especially in adolescents, to young adults with drags on the full on adult hood, that increases the risk of alcohol disorders. The use of this substitute goes to show all the many negative aspects about it such as Magical thinking of paranoia or the physical attributes of them.…

    • 1600 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    One way a person can become an alcoholic is their genetic makeup. Researchers approximated between 50 and 60 percent of alcoholism…

    • 1351 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mark Willenbring Thesis

    • 604 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Video Reaction Paper: HBO Series, An Interview with Mark Willenbring, M.D. In this episode of HBO series Addiction, Mark Willenbring discussed what could cause a person to become addicted to alcohol. He also discussed genetics and mental health disorders as they relate to alcoholism. Dr. Willenbring goes into details about the different states of alcoholism, medications to treat alcoholism, and how ineffective a confrontational approach is. According to Dr. Willenbring, alcoholism universally starts with young people.…

    • 604 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dual Diagnosis Akron A dual diagnosis is the manifestation of two mental diseases in an individual. A dual diagnosis is seen in drug treatment when a patient has a diagnosed psychological disorder in addition to their addiction. This claim of dual diagnosis is prefaced by the fact that addiction is a mental disease.…

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Neurobehavioral Theory

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages

    According to our reading “Research has shown that after one or two weeks of habitual daily drinking there is a short-term 30% increase in the speed of alcohol biotransformation allowing the drinker to consume more…” Therefore, the neurobehavioral theory has shown support because it proves us that alcoholic and drugs abuse from the neurobehavioral because they cannot control themselves. An individual suffering from an abuse can have a hard time controlling their brain and that is why they get addicted to drugs and alcohol.…

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The University of Utah states that when a scientist is searching for “addiction genes,” they are actually looking for differences in one’s genetic makeup to find genes that make the individual more susceptible to addiction. Genes are said to be a cause of addiction, but that one is not born an addict. As an individual lives, gains experience, and is exposed to the environment, a person may become an addict. Scientists have narrowed down genes that are prone to addiction by testing individuals in a large family, and finding genes similar between the addicted family members. Addicted family members may have genes, or lack genes, that eventually lead up to their addiction.…

    • 679 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I will mainly focus on past research about impact of genes on substance abuse since children of parents who are substance abusers will inherit the genes of their parents. Regardless of the importance of genes, inevitably, there are other triggering external factors that lead to substance abuse like peer pressure, culture, and the structure of the family in which individuals are raised, along with the role of maltreatment. Other ways to explain addiction include social learning theory and past traumas, like sexual abuse during childhood. On the other hand, parental support can prevent individuals from abusing substances. Hence, along with the biological level of analysis, sociocultural level of analysis will also be used to determine the extent of influence of biological factors.…

    • 603 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Her dad went through many different stages while he was drinking. Alcohol reduces our ability to think straight," says Professor McMurran, a psychologist at the University of Nottingham. "It narrows our focus of attention and gives us tunnel vision. 
"If someone provokes us while we 're drunk, we don 't take other factors into account, such as the consequences of rising to the bait. 
The way we process information is affected when we 've been drinking too.…

    • 1399 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    George L. Engel, a psychiatrist at the University of Rochester came up with the Biopsychosocial Model of Addiction (Fisher 2009). From the biopsychosocial model, we understand that addiction is a “complex disease” (Howatt 2005). It may be influenced by either biological, social or psychological…

    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Addictions can lead to the worst in people. Those who have an addiction do not have control over what they are doing, taking, or using. It has the power to hurt the individual mentally, physically, and emotionally. According to Lauren Slater, “Rat Park: The Radical Addiction, scientists, Old and Milner were stating that an addiction is a “physiological inevitability”(6) which causes them to conduct experiments in finding the pleasure center. Another scientist who was very fond of finding the cause of addictions was Bruce Alexander.…

    • 1335 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There are currently three medications that are permitted in the United States to help condense the amount of drinking for some people. They are mainly prescribed by a physician or other health professional. Ideally, health professionals would be capable to identify which alcoholism treatment is most effective for a specific person. NIAAA and other organizations are conducting research to identify genes and other factors that can predict how well someone will respond to a particular treatment.…

    • 789 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Alcohol Affects The Brain

    • 939 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The cerebellum cortex is what contains the ability to think and interact, so when it is affected by alcohol it is harder to remember, learn and interact with others (U.S National Library of…

    • 939 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Research shows that the effects of alcohol in the body analyzed in the previous paragraph will be increased or will have a much more drastic effect on the adolescent body than the adult body. Alcohol consumption at a young age could cause problems with adolescent brain development and increase the risk of developing an AUD, Alcohol Use Disorder (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism). These problems in brain development prevent young adults from making rational decisions that eventually put other people’s…

    • 1224 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    If Joe did begin drinking during adolescence, he would be regarded by psychiatrist Robert Cloninger as a Type II Alcoholic (citation). Type II alcoholics are defined by Cloninger as early onset steady drinkers. This category is predominantly male and is claimed to be strongly influenced by heredity rather than environment, thus biological factors may account for Joe’s transition of occasional drinking as a teenager to alcohol abuse. According to the DSM-5, “alcohol use disorder runs in families, with 40%-60% of the variance of risk explained by genetic influences (American Psychiatric Association, 494). This means that over half of Joe’s disorder could be genetically determined.…

    • 1299 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays