Glossary of terms used on this site

Is not completely understood; appears to modulate/normalize alcohol-disrupted brain activity, particularly in the GABA and glutamate neurotransmitter systems; does not cause sickness if alcohol is ingested; reduces craving for alcohol

a chemical substance (as a drug) capable of combining with a receptor on a cell and initiating the same reaction or activity typically produced by the binding of an endogenous substance <binding of adrenergic agonists>

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid fellowship founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio. AA's stated "primary purpose" is to help alcoholics "stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety". With other early members Bill Wilson and Bob Smith developed AA's Twelve Step program of spiritual and character development. AA's initial Twelve Traditions were introduced in 1946 to help the fellowship be stable and unified while disengaged from "outside issues" and influences.

Alcoholism --  a chronic disorder marked by excessive and usually compulsive drinking of alcohol leading to psychological and physical dependence or addiction

Alliesthesia -- describes the dependence of the perception of pleasure or disgust perceived when consuming a stimulus on the "milieu intérieur" of the organism. Therefore, a stimulus capable of ameliorating the state of the interior milieu, will be perceived as pleasant. In contrast, a stimulus disturbing the milieu interne of the organism will be perceived as unpleasant or even painful. The sensation elicited therefore depends not only on the quality or on the intensity of the stimulus, but also on internal receptors, and is subjective.

An alcoholic is a man or a woman who suffers from alcoholism - they have a distinct physical desire to consume alcohol beyond their capacity to control it, regardless of all rules of common sense.

a psychological condition characterized by inability to experience pleasure in normally pleasurable acts

a chemical that acts within the body to reduce the physiological activity of another chemical substance (as an opiate); especially :  one that opposes the action on the nervous system of a drug or a substance occurring naturally in the body by combining with and blocking its nervous receptor

a :  painful or apprehensive uneasiness of mind usually over an impending or anticipated ill

b :  fearful concern or interest

c :  a cause of anxiety

2

:  an abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by physiological signs (as sweating, tension, and increased pulse), by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about one's capacity to cope with it

:  any of various disorders (as panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, a phobia, or generalized anxiety disorder) in which anxiety is a predominant feature—called also anxiety neurosis, anxiety state

:   a drug that relieves anxiety

The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) is the United States' leading addiction medicine professional society representing over 4,000 physicians, clinicians and associated professionals with a focus on addiction and its treatment. ASAM is dedicated to increasing access and improving the quality of addiction treatment, educating physicians and the public, supporting research and prevention, and promoting the appropriate role of physicians in the care of patients with addiction.

Ataraxia (ἀταραξία, "not perturbed") is a Greek term used by Pyrrho and subsequently Epicurus for a lucid state of robust equanimity, characterized by ongoing freedom from distress and worry. The ancient Greek author Sextus Empiricus gave this definition: "ataraxia is an untroubled and tranquil condition of the soul." [1] In non-philosophical usage, the term was used to describe the ideal mental state for soldiers entering battle.

Aversion therapy has been used for many years in the treatment  of alcoholism. Apomorphine and emetine are the usual  drugs used as the unconditioned stimuli for nausea and vomiting, with  alcohol as the conditioned stimulus.

blood–brain barrier -- a naturally occurring barrier created by the modification of brain capillaries (as by reduction in fenestration and formation of tight cell-to-cell contacts) that prevents many substances from leaving the blood and crossing the capillary walls into the brain tissues

1.           :  the philosophic principle that one's existence is demonstrated by the fact that one thinks

2.             the intellectual processes of the self or ego

:  existing simultaneously with and usually independently of another medical condition

compulsion -- an irresistible persistent impulse to perform an act (as excessive hand washing); also :  the act itself

:  of, relating to, caused by, or suggestive of psychological compulsion or obsession <repetitive and compulsive behavior> <compulsive hoarding> <a compulsive gambler>

Сonsummatory behaviour -- (Psychology) any behaviour that leads directly to the satisfaction of an innate drive, e.g. eating or drinking

Craving -- a strong desire to consume a particular substance—e.g., of abuse (cocaine)—or food (chocolate); craving is a major factor in relapse and/or continued use after withdrawal from a substance of abuse and is both imprecisely defined and difficult to measure

:  an act of depressing or a state of being depressed: as

a (1):  a state of feeling sad

(2):  a mood disorder marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty with thinking and concentration, a significant increase or decrease in appetite and time spent sleeping, feelings of dejection and hopelessness, and sometimes suicidal thoughts or an attempt to commit suicide

The modern disease theory of alcoholism states that problem drinking is sometimes caused by a disease of the brain, characterized by altered brain structure and function.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps control the brain's reward and pleasure centers. Dopamine also helps regulate movement and emotional responses, and it enables us not only to see rewards, but to take action to move toward them.

DSM -- Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders <This patient arguably meets 6 of the 11 DSM-5 diagnostic criteria, on the basis of the details of the case presentation alone …—Sarah E. Wakeman et al., The New England Journal of Medicine, 13 Nov. 2014>

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) is the 2013 update to the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) classification and diagnostic tool. In the United States the DSM serves as a universal authority for psychiatric diagnosis. Treatment recommendations, as well as payment by health care providers, are often determined by DSM classifications, so the appearance of a new version has significant practical importance

Ego --the self especially as contrasted with another self or the world

endorphin [en-dor´fin]
one of a group of opiate-like peptides produced naturally by the body at neural synapses at various points in the central nervous system pathways, where they modulate the transmission of pain perceptions. The term endorphin was coined by combining the words endogenous and morphine. Like morphine, endorphins raise the pain threshold and produce sedation and euphoria; the effects are blocked by naloxone, a narcotic antagonist

a colorless crystalline feebly basic sympathomimetic hormone C ₉ H ₁₃ NO ₃ that is the principal blood-pressure-raising hormone secreted by the adrenal medulla, is prepared from adrenal extracts or made synthetically, and is used medicinally especially as a heart stimulant, as a vasoconstrictor (as to treat open-angle glaucoma and life-threatening allergic reactions and to prolong the effects of local anesthetics), and as a bronchodilator—called also adrenaline

Ethanol -- a colorless volatile flammable liquid C₂H₅OH that is the intoxicating agent in liquors and is also used as a solvent and in fuel —called also ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol

an amino acid C ₄ H ₉ NO ₂ that is a neurotransmitter that induces inhibition of postsynaptic neurons—called also GABA

:  a butyrophenone antipsychotic drug C₂₁H₂₃ClFNO

Haloperidol is a typical butyrophenone type antipsychotic that exhibits high affinity dopamine D2 receptor antagonism and slow receptor dissociation kinetics.[41] It has effects similar to the phenothiazines.[17] The drug binds preferentially to D2 and α1 receptors at low dose (ED50 = 0.13 and 0.42 mg/kg, respectively), and 5-HT2 receptors at a higher dose (ED50 = 2.6 mg/kg). Given that antagonism of D2 receptors is more beneficial on the positive symptoms of schizophrenia and antagonism of 5-HT2 receptors on the negative symptoms, this characteristic underlies haloperidol's greater effect on delusions, hallucinations and other manifestations of psychosis.[42] Haloperidol's negligible affinity for histamine H1 receptors and muscarinic M1 acetylcholine receptors yields an antipsychotic with a lower incidence of sedation, weight gain, and orthostatic hypotension though having higher rates of treatment emergent extrapyramidal symptoms.

the maintenance of relatively stable internal physiological conditions (as body temperature or the pH of blood) in higher animals under fluctuating environmental conditions;also:  the process of maintaining a stable psychological state in the individual under varying psychological pressures or stable social conditions in a group under varying social, environmental, or political factors

ID-- (Latin for "it", German: Es)the one of the three divisions of the psyche in psychoanalytic theory that is completely unconscious and is the source of psychic energy derived from instinctual needs and drives — compare ego , superego

A psychological theory of how goal-direction is controlled by the stimulus properties of the target. Incentive motivation is one of a number of potential psychological mechanisms for controlling the direction of motivated behavior. Drive reduction and opponent processes are examples of other potential mechanisms that might control behavior independently of incentive processes .

Incentive salience. Refers to the attractiveness of external stimuli, events, places and their mental representations; their ability to capture attention. The term, incentive salience, applies always to the perception of external events and to internal representations of those events. Incentive salience must be actively generated (attributed) by the brain and assigned to particular perceptions and representations, based on their association with past activation of mesotelencephalic dopamine systems.

Incentive salience is a psychological process that transforms the perception of stimuli, imbuing them with salience, making them attractive, ‘wanted’, incentive stimuli.

Interoception -- sensitivity to stimuli originating inside of the body

The limbic system is a set of brain structures located on both sides of the thalamus, immediately beneath the cerebrum. The limbic system supports a variety of functions including emotion, behavior, motivation, long-term memory, and olfaction. Emotional life is largely housed in the limbic system, and it has a great deal to do with the formation of memories

:  of, relating to, or being the more central portion of the limbic system of the brain that arises mainly in the ventral tegmental area, consists especially of dopaminergic neurons, and innervates the amygdala, nucleus accumbens, and olfactory tubercle <Bupropion, an atypical antidepressant that increases dopamine levels in mesolimbic pathways in the central nervous system that are also activated by other drugs of dependence, increases smoking cessation rates independent of its antidepressant effect

Naltrexone Hydrochloride Tablets USP, an opioid antagonist, are a synthetic congener of oxymorphone with no opioid agonist properties. Naltrexone differs in structure from oxymorphone in that the methyl group on the nitrogen atom is replaced by a cyclopropylmethyl group.

When used as a treatment for alcohol dependency, naltrexone blocks the euphoric effects and feelings of intoxication. This allows people with alcohol addiction to reduce their drinking behaviors enough to remain motivated to stay in treatment and avoid relapses. Naltrexone is not addictive nor does it react adversely with alcohol.

Long-term naltrexone therapy extending beyond three months is considered most effective by researchers, and therapy may also be used indefinitely. Learn more about alcohol use disorders.

A more or less coherent self (or self-image) that is constituted with a past  and a future in the various stories that we and others tell about ourselves.  Non-conceptual first-person content: The content of a primitive self-consciousness  that is not informed by conceptual thought. For example, the ecological content of  perception that specifies one’s own embodied position in the environment.  Sense of agency: The sense that I am the one who is causing or generating an action.  For example, the sense that I am the one who is causing something to move, or that I am  the one who is generating a certain thought in my stream of consciousness.  Sense of ownership: The sense that I am the one who is undergoing an experience. For  example, the sense that my body is moving regardless of whether the movement is voluntary  or involuntary.

:  plasticity 4 <… neuroplasticity, the capacity of the brain to develop and change throughout life, something Western science once thought impossible.—Time, 8 May 2006

Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system.[1] Traditionally, neuroscience is recognized as a branch of biology. However, it is currently an interdisciplinary science that collaborates with other fields such as chemistry, cognitive science, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics, medicine (including neurology), genetics, and allied disciplines including philosophy, physics, and psychology. It also exerts influence on other fields, such as neuroeducation,[2] neuroethics, and neurolaw. The term neurobiology is often used interchangeably with the term neuroscience, although the former refers specifically to the biology of the nervous system, whereas the latter refers to the entire science of the nervous system, including elements of psychology as well as the purely physical sciences.

Neurotransmitters, also known as special messengers, are endogenous chemicals that enable neurotransmission. They transmit signals across a chemical synapse, such as a neuromuscular junction, from one neuron (nerve cell) to another "target" neuron, muscle cell, or gland cell.[1] Neurotransmitters are released from synaptic vesicles in synapses into the synaptic cleft, where they are received by receptors on the target cells. Many neurotransmitters are synthesized from simple and plentiful precursors such as amino acids, which are readily available from the diet and only require a small number of biosynthetic steps for conversion

:   a catecholamine C ₈ H ₁₁ NO ₃ that is the chemical means of transmission across synapses in postganglionic neurons of the sympathetic nervous system and in some parts of the central nervous system, is a vasopressor hormone of the adrenal medulla, and is a precursor of epinephrine in its major biosynthetic pathway—called also arterenol, noradrenalin

Richard Solomon developed a motivational theory based on opponent processes. Basically he states that every process that has an affective balance, (i.e. is pleasant or unpleasant), is followed by a secondary, "opponent process". This opponent process sets in after the primary process is quieted. With repeated exposure, the primary process becomes weaker while the opponent process is strengthened.[1]

The most important contribution is Solomon's findings on work motivation and addictive behavior, though it does not fit the "economist's standard model"[clarification needed], and how there are growing suspicions that addiction is a much broader phenomenon than first believed. According to opponent-process theory, drug addiction is the result of an emotional pairing of pleasure and the emotional symptoms associated with withdrawal. At the beginning of drug or any substance use, there are high levels of pleasure and low levels of withdrawal. Over time, however, as the levels of pleasure from using the drug decrease, the levels of withdrawal symptoms increase, thus providing motivation to keep using the drug despite a lack of pleasure from it.

Pleasure is USU ally the first stage of the larger process of incentive motivation (together with incentive salience and associative learning) and serves as the normal trigger that activates components of associative learning and Incentive salience . By itself, however, pleasure is not quivalent to either reward or ‘wanting’: it is merely a subjective cxpcricncc or feeling. The evaluation of the sensation that produces pleasure is pre-conscious; only the product, the subjective pleasure, is experienced. In the present paper and in the context of addiction, the term pleasure is used synonymously with the terms cuphoria, hcdonia or positive affective state.

Reinforcement . A purely behavioral and descriptive term for the relationship between the occurrence of a stimulus and changes in the subsequent probability of the behavior that preceded it. Reinforcement denotes a change in the probability of a behavior (increased or decreased) that is contingent on presentation of stimuli.

Reward -- the process of reward is essentially equivalent to the process of incentive motivation; that is, reward refers to the process of creating incentives (or, as a noun, a stimulus that triggers this process). Rewards (or incentives) cause future behavior to be changed in a goal-directed fashion so as to obtain again the situation or stimulus that triggered the process. This process normally requires three separate stages. The first stage is the activation of pleasure by the consequences of a particular act or event. In the second stage pleasure is associated with a mental representation of the object, act, event or place in which pleasure occurred, by the process of classical (associative) conditioning. The third stage involves the attribution of incentive salience to subsequent perceptions and representations of the associated object, act, event or place, which causes them to become ‘wanted’

The reward system is a group of neural structures responsible for incentive salience (i.e., "wanting" or desire), pleasure (i.e., "liking" or hedonic value), and positive reinforcement (i.e., learning). Reward is the attractive and motivational property of a stimulus that induces appetitive behavior – also known as approach behavior – and consummatory behavior.[1] In its description of a rewarding stimulus (i.e., "a reward"), a review on reward neuroscience noted, "any stimulus, object, event, activity, or situation that has the potential to make us approach and consume it is by definition a reward."[1] In operant conditioning, rewarding stimuli function as positive reinforcers;[1] the converse statement is also true: positive reinforcers are rewarding

rumination

obsessive thinking about an idea, situation, or choice especially when it interferes with normal mental functioning; specifically :  a focusing of one's attention on negative or distressing thoughts or feelings that when excessive or prolonged may lead to or exacerbate an episode of depression.

Rumination, or recursive self-focused thinking, has important implications for understanding the development  and maintenance of depressive episodes. Rumination is associated with the worsening of negative mood states,  greater affective responding to negative material, and increased access to negative memories.

salience is attributed to subsequent perceptions and mental representations of the associated object, act, event or place, by a separate neural system from those responsible for the first two processes. This third process of salience attribution (incentive salience) is proposed here to involve dopamine. The attribution of incentive salience causes the associated situation to become attractive and ‘wanted’ and it is this psychological process that produces the direct manifestation of incentive motivation: goal-directed seeking and instrumental behavior.

:  the quality or state of being sensitive: as

a:  the capacity of an organism or sense organ to respond to stimulation :  irritability

b:  the quality or state of being hypersensitive

Alliesthesia -- describes the dependence of the perception of pleasure or disgust perceived when consuming a stimulus on the "milieu intérieur" of the organism. Therefore, a stimulus capable of ameliorating the state of the interior milieu, will be perceived as pleasant. In contrast, a stimulus disturbing the milieu interne of the organism will be perceived as unpleasant or even painful. The sensation elicited therefore depends not only on the quality or on the intensity of the stimulus, but also on internal receptors, and is subjective.

Sensitization has been defined as the increased response to a drug that follows its repeated presentation but can take on a broader meaning when considered in the context of increased responsiveness of any drug-related phenotype (see below). Psychomotor sensitization, as defined by increased locomotor activation produced by repeated administration of a drug, is more likely to occur with intermittent exposure of drugs, whereas tolerance is more likely to occur with continuous exposure. A conceptualization of the role of psychomotor sensitization in drug dependence has been proposed where a shift in an incentive-salience state described as “wanting” was hypothesized to be progressively increased by repeated exposure to drugs of abuse (Robinson and Berridge 1993).

References

Koob, G. 2001. “Drug Addiction, Dysregulation of Reward, and Allostasis.” Neuropsychopharmacology 24 (2): 97–129. doi:10.1016/S0893-133X(00)00195-0.

a phenolic amine neurotransmitter C10H12N2O that is a powerful vasoconstrictor and is found especially in the brain, blood serum, and gastric mucous membrane of mammals—called also 5-HT, 5-hydroxytryptamine

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter and is found in allbilateral animals, where it mediates gut movements and the animal's perceptions of resource availability.

In less complex animals, such as some invertebrates, resources simply mean food availability. In more complex animals, such as arthropods and vertebrates, resources also can mean social dominance. In response to the perceived abundance or scarcity of resources, an animal's growth, reproduction or mood may be elevated or lowered. This may somewhat depend on how much serotonin the organism has at its disposa

SMART Recovery (Self Management and Recovery Training) is an international non-profit organization which provides assistance to individuals seeking abstinence from addictive behaviors. The approach used is secular and scientifically based using non-confrontational motivational, behavioral and cognitive methods. People who participate in SMART Recovery meetings learn recovery methods derived from evidence-based addiction treatments

superego -   the one of the three divisions of the psyche in psychoanalytic theory that is only partly conscious, represents internalization of parental conscience and the rules of society, and functions to reward and punish through a system of moral attitudes, conscience, and a sense of guilt — compare ego, id

teleology

1

a :  the study of evidences of design in nature

b :  a doctrine (as in vitalism) that ends are immanent in nature

c :  a doctrine explaining phenomena by final causes

2

:  the fact or character attributed to nature or natural processes of being directed toward an end or shaped by a purpose

3

:  the use of design or purpose as an explanation of natural phenomena

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or USFDA) is a federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food safety, tobacco products, dietary supplements, prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceutical drugs (medications), vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, blood transfusions, medical devices, electromagnetic radiation emitting devices (ERED), cosmetics, animal foods & feed[5] and veterinary products.

The individual's belief about himself or herself, including the person's attributes and who and what the self is.

The ventral tegmental area (VTA), (tegmentum is Latin for covering), also known as the ventral tegmental area of Tsai,[1] or simply ventral tegmentum, is a group of neurons located close to the midline on the floor of the midbrain. The VTA is the origin of the dopaminergic cell bodies of the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system and is widely implicated in the drug and natural reward circuitry of the brain. It is important in cognition, motivation, orgasm,[2] drug addiction, intense emotions relating to love, and several psychiatric disorders. Neurons in the VTA project to numerous areas of the brain, from the prefrontal cortex to the caudal brainstem and several regions in between

А ppetitive behavior -- Any behavior that increases the probability that an animal will be able to satisfy a need; for example, a hungry animal will move around to find food.