Translational Project by shannon

Introduction: Understanding Addicition

shannonraveendraschool — 2025-04-05 02:43:47 UTC

The topic of addiction is one that intigues me as many individuals in my personal life have struggled with various forms of addiction. The idea of battling the rational reality that a certain substance is harmful and yet continuing to engage with it is a tension that I have not been able to quite understand. I was interested in seeing the neurological facets that play into addiction and to see how this rational side is overcome by impulse. In this project, the neurological processes and discoveries made regarding addiction are highlighted and extrapolated to practical, real-world applications such as treatments, policy changes, as well as reducing stigma regarding the topic. This project will go through a series of neuroscientific papers and will critically evaluate how the findings translate to the clinical and professional world.

Paper 1: Ochterbeck & Forberger (2022) – Addiction as a Brain Disorder? A Mixed-Methods Study of Scientific Understandings

shannonraveendraschool — 2025-04-05 03:11:16 UTC

The paper by Ochterbeck and Forberger (2022) exxplores the "brain disease model" of addiction and how researchers interpret this model. In this article over 190 neuroscientists studying addiction were surveyed through open-ended as well as quantitative data. In the article it was found that only 60% of those surved classified addiction as a brain disorder and 80% agreed that often addiction is overly simplified a reduced to a brain disorder highlighting the idea that addiction is not only a neurobiological disorder and is affected by environmental and social factors as well. This paper is a cornerstone to understanding the translational impact of addiction studies as it explores and critiques the systems used to reach scientific consensus. It is important to understand in the context of translational science that even neurological disorders such as addiction are complex and are multifaceted and translating these studies to the clinical world requires the navigation of these complexities.

Paper 3: Ahmed (2004) – Addiction as a Disorder of Compulsive Reward Prediction

shannonraveendraschool — 2025-04-05 03:41:16 UTC

This paper by Ahmed (2004) highlights a shift in the way that addiction is understood and defined. This article shifts the narrative to defining addiction as compulsive reward prediction rather than just a pursuit of pleasure. The idea that those facing addiction do not engage in drug use due to a pleasant feeling but due to the compulsive expectation of their brains is what this paper argues. This explains why those facing addiction still engage in addictive behaviours even after knowing that the behaviors are harmful and even when they no longer produce the same rewards. Rather than the typlical explanation involving dopamine-driven addiction or dependence, this study through the study of animal models takes the stance that addiction is mainly due to negative and maladaptive patterns of learning as well as expectations in the brain which ultimately affect the process of decision making. In the animal models it was seen that perseistence of drug-seeking was provoked by repeated drug use even when the actual reward was not present. This paper helps us to understand a different persepctive on the neurological processes that affect addiction... instead of just the physiological processes we can see that addiction can be classified as a learning disorder. Translationally, this study has the potential to shift the way we look at addiction treatment shifting the focus from addressing withdrawls symptoms or cravings onto distrupting predictive cues, as well as reframing associative learning.

Paper 2: Sitzia & Lovinger (2023) – Alcohol Addiction and the Basal Ganglia: Disruptions in Associative and Sensorimotor Loops

shannonraveendraschool — 2025-04-05 03:46:38 UTC

This study highlights the neurological process of how the basal ganglia's circuits are affected by chronic alcohol use/addiction. The associative loop which has involvement in decision-making and reward processeing as well as the sensorimotor loop which has involvment in habit formation were studied through animal models. I was found that communiction within these circuits was disrupted during alcohol addiction. This resulted in a neurological breakdown in the learning process which ultimately lead to increased addictive, compulsive behaviour in regards to alcohol consumption. This study by Sitzia and Lovinger (2023) provides insight into the neuroscientific processes of addiction. Translationally, based on this research we can explore the actual structural brain changes that take place in addiction and use this information to inform treatments. Rather than simply blaming addiction on lack of self-control or moral ailments, this study give solid ground for a more focused treatment approach in targetting specific circuits in the brain and gives footing for information that will lead to less stigma.

Translational Science Evaluation

shannonraveendraschool — 2025-04-05 03:57:11 UTC

The studies and papers I have selected highlights the translational science aspect of addiction. The paper by Sitzia & Lovinger (2023) highlights how dysfunction in the basal ganglia circuits have the potential to be clinical targets for treatment by bridging molecular neuroscience with behaviour identifying the disroders in the neurological process of compulsivity. The paper by Ahmed (2004) highlights that addiction can not be simply defined as pleasure-seeking but as maladaptive learning which opens the possibility for retraining the mind as therapy in terms cue-exposure for addicition which will help individuals retrain prediction systems in the brain. Lastly, Ochterbeck and Forberger (2022) highlights that addiction is a complex idea that that can not be easily defined by the brain model used widely by scientists. This article highlight the importance of shfiting treatments from less pharmacological to a more well rounded social and contextual view of addiction through psychosocial interventions.

Personal Reflection

shannonraveendraschool — 2025-04-05 04:00:36 UTC

Prior to my work on this project my understanding of addiction was limited to just believing it was a neurological problem. Through this process I learned that while there are biological explanations such as disrupted dopamine, missing reward systems and more, there is more complexity to the science of addiction. Through this, my persepctive changed and I now have a more full understanding of translational science in regards to addiction.