Premium
On Understanding and Treating Narcotic Dependence: A Neuropsychopharmacological Perspective
Author(s) -
Ng Lorenz K. Y.,
Szara Stephen,
Bunney William E.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
british journal of addiction to alcohol and other drugs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0007-0890
DOI - 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1975.tb00042.x
Subject(s) - narcotic , addiction , phenomenon , perspective (graphical) , modalities , narcotic drugs , psychology , physical dependence , psychotherapist , medicine , psychiatry , epistemology , pharmacology , criminology , sociology , philosophy , morphine , social science , artificial intelligence , computer science
Summary The etiology of narcotic dependence in man is multifactorial and complex. Social, psychological and pharmacological factors all play important roles in Ike genesis of this disorder. Viewed from a scientific standpoint, addiction to narcotics is a remarkable phenomenon; that a foreign substance (the narcotic drug) with no known biological function can produce a “hunger” of such intensity that the drive for the toxic foreign substance displaces all other basic needs and responsibilities. Such a profound alteration of human behavior by a foreign chemical may originated in some important biochemical events somewhere in the body. This review examines the psycho‐pharmacological and biochemical factors that may be pertinent and the interaction of these fators which may contribute to the phenomenon of narcotic‐seeking behavior. Rational guidelines for new and improved biomedical modalities for treatment of narcotic dependence are suggested by past and ongoing research.