Contextual Conditioning of Drug Tolerance and Drug Addiction

Contextual Conditioning of Drug Tolerance and Drug Addiction Research on the contextual conditioning of drug tolerance shows it is an important factor in understanding drug addiction in humans. Context is a way of noting that the likelihood of a behavior or response depends on certain conditions. Contextual conditioning is said to occur when a person becomes conditioned not only to the drug but also to the environmental circumstances or cues in which the drug is taken. Studies have shown that tolerance develops when these cues come to reliably predict physiological or behavioral responses in the presence of those stimuli—the smell, people, administration and sight of the drug (Domjan, 2005). What Current Research States Researchers†¦show more content†¦(2006) further explain that addictive behavior is motivated by the expectancy of the drug. Essentially, when an addict is exposed to cues previously paired with drug-use, for example drug paraphernalia or contexts in which drugs were taken; they elicit responses such as drug-seeking behavior and withdrawal symptoms that result in drug abuse. Hogarth amp; Dickinson (2007) further demonstrate that depending on the context, instrumental drug-seeking behavior is goal-directed or habitual (Hogarth, Dickinson, 2007). They conclude that drug seeking is the result of expectancy and is goal-directed; however they were unclear of the factors that contribute this behavior to either goal-directed or habitual learning processes. Extinction and Spontaneous Recovery (Relapse) Taylor, Olausson, Quinn amp; Torregrossa (2008) propose that recovering addicts continue to respond to drug cues long after they have stopped using drugs. In a study on rats, Chaudri, Sahuque, amp; Junak (2008) concluded that environmental contexts trigger relapse of drug seeking behavior after extinction has occurred. According to the study, rats were tested to see if they responded to cues paired with one context and not paired in the other. They found that the rats increased their responses to ethanol. This study provides evidence that failure to extinguish conditioned responding to non-reinforced drug cues may be an important factor in relapse. It was also a proof of the role of contextualShow MoreRelateddrug addiction1059 Words   |  5 PagesReseach Paper About Drug Addiction Introduction These days, drugs can be found everywhere, and it may seem like everyone s doing them. Lots of people are tempted by the excitement or escape that drugs seem to offer. But learning the facts about drugs can help you see the risks of chasing this excitement or escape. And just as there Premium4645 Words19 Pages Research Paper About Computer Addiction CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION A. Background of the study It is known that we are living in technologicalRead MoreFundamentals of Hrm263904 Words   |  1056 PagesEmployee Rights Legislation and the HRM Implications 86 The Privacy Act of 1974 86 The Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1974 87 The Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 87 The Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 88 The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 88 Current Issues Regarding Employee Rights 90 Drug Testing 90 DID YOU KNOW?: Why Organizations Conduct Drug Tests 91 Honesty Tests 92 Whistle-Blowing 92 Employee Monitoring and Workplace Security 93 DID YOU KNOW?: By the Numbers 93 WorkplaceRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 PagesDEVELOPING SELF-AWARENESS SKILL ASSESSMENT 46 Diagnostic Surveys for Scale Self-Awareness 46 Self-Awareness Assessment 46 Emotional Intelligence Assessment 47 The Defining Issues Test 48 v Cognitive Style Indicator 52 Locus of Control Scale 52 Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale 54 Core Self-Evaluation Scale (CSES) 56 SKILL LEARNING 57 Key Dimensions of Self-Awareness 57 The Enigma of Self-Awareness 58 The Sensitive Line 58 Understanding and Appreciating Individual Differences Important Areas of Self-AwarenessRead MoreOcd - Symptoms, Causes, Treatment131367 Words   |  526 Pagesrelieve distress associated with the obsession or to prevent some anticipated dreaded outcome. 8 THE NATURE OF OCD It is not performed to obtain pleasure or gratification and so can be distinguished from impulse control disorders like sexual addictions or gambling. As stated in DSM-IV-TR, for a diagnosis of OCD, it is necessary that at some point in the illness the person recognizes that the obsession(s) or compulsion(s) are excessive or unreasonable. However, many individuals with OCD are not