ebook img

Molecular Neurobiology of Addiction Recovery: The 12 Steps Program and Fellowship PDF

98 Pages·2013·3.26 MB·English
Save to my drive
Quick download
Download
Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.

Preview Molecular Neurobiology of Addiction Recovery: The 12 Steps Program and Fellowship

SPRINGER BRIEFS IN NEUROSCIENCE Kenneth Blum · John Femino Scott Teitelbaum · John Giordano Marlene Oscar-Berman · Mark Gold Molecular Neurobiology of Addiction Recovery The  Steps Program and Fellowship SpringerBriefs in Neuroscience For furthervolumes: http://www.springer.com/series/8878 Kenneth Blum John Femino • Scott Teitelbaum John Giordano • Marlene Oscar-Berman • Mark Gold Molecular Neurobiology of Addiction Recovery The 12 Steps Program and Fellowship 123 Kenneth Blum JohnGiordano Scott Teitelbaum Department of Holistic Medicine MarkGold G&G Holistic Health CareServices, LLC. School ofMedicine North Miami Beach, FL McKnightBrain Institute, USA University ofFlorida Gainesville, NY MarleneOscar-Berman USA Neurology,Anatomy andNeurobiology Boston UniversitySchool ofMedicine JohnFemino Boston,MA Meadows Edge RecoveryCenter USA North Kingstown,RI USA ISSN 2191-558X ISSN 2191-5598 (electronic) ISBN 978-1-4614-7229-2 ISBN 978-1-4614-7230-8 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-7230-8 SpringerNewYorkHeidelbergDordrechtLondon LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2013936533 (cid:2)TheAuthor(s)2013 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpartof the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation,broadcasting,reproductiononmicrofilmsorinanyotherphysicalway,andtransmissionor informationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifically for the purposeofbeingenteredandexecutedonacomputersystem,forexclusiveusebythepurchaserofthe work. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of theCopyright Law of the Publisher’s location, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Permissions for use may be obtained through Rights Link at the CopyrightClearanceCenter.ViolationsareliabletoprosecutionundertherespectiveCopyrightLaw. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexempt fromtherelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication,neithertheauthorsnortheeditorsnorthepublishercanacceptanylegalresponsibilityfor anyerrorsoromissionsthatmaybemade.Thepublishermakesnowarranty,expressorimplied,with respecttothematerialcontainedherein. Printedonacid-freepaper SpringerispartofSpringerScience+BusinessMedia(www.springer.com) To Our Children and Grandchildren may they all live a life free of the pain and shackles of addiction: Jeffrey, Seth, Moses, Jia, Steve, Kimberly, Kyle, Cameron, Nate, Jonah, Sarah, Eric, Jacob, Dahlia, Athena, Amaron, Jenna, Justin, Sebastian, Jesse, Giselle and Richard Preface The lead author of this manuscript believes that the emotional attachment of recovering addicts to 12-step programs deserves special attention. It is important that the readership of this Neuroscience Brief realize that our attempt to describe thescientificunderpinningsofthispowerfulprogramwillinnowayreducerespect for these concepts. The concepts developed not only by ‘‘Bill W.’’ (William G. Wilson), but by other notables such as ‘‘Dr. Bob’’ (Robert H. Smith) and the Oxford Group, have evolved based on empirical experiences of what worked for the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and later Narcotics Anonymous membership. It is with great respect and admiration that we as a group have come together in an attempt to associate each of the 12-steps with molecular, biological, and in some cases, neurogenetic explanations. It is quite remarkable that Bill W., along with others, fought arduously against all odds to deliver the 12-step message and fellowship to alcoholics starting in Ohio, St. Louis, and New York. It is ironic that in 1939, when the Works Publishing Company, owned by a few investors through the purchase of stock, published the Big Book (Alcoholics Anonymous: How Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism), the response was less positive than expected. The end result was that Bill W. and his wife Lois lost just about everythingincludingtheirhouse.However,realizingthatthe12-stepprogramwas indeed saving lives, Bill W. never gave up! ItshouldbenotedthatBillW.continuedtosmokethroughouthisrecoveryevenat 76 years of age, while dying from emphysema in the winter of 1971. From a neurologicalperspective,nicotine,sugar,andcoffeeactivateandreleasedopamine inthenucleusaccumbensrewardsiteofthemesolimbicsystemofthebrain.While notminimizingtheeffectAAalsohadonhisrecovery,certainlythedepressionBill W.sufferedduringhisrecoveryfromalcohol,a17-yearbattle,wasindeedreducedby the continued use of all these substances. As a neuropharmacologist, I am also interested in Bill W.’s effort to combat alcoholism through biology. When he experimented with both LSD and Vitamin B3 (Niacin) therapy, many in the fellowshipweredismayedwithhishopetobiologicallyassistalcoholicstogainrelief fromtheiraddiction.Inthemid-1980s,Iwasseekingsupportforanearlierversionof a natural dopamine D2 agonist from the AA community and was similarly and emphaticallyturneddownbytheexecutiveofficersinNewYorkCity. vii viii Preface In an effort to expand our scientific understanding of how the 12-step program and fellowship saves lives and assists the people doing the work to better under- stand the role of neuroscience in addiction, we have attempted to link the remarkable benefits of each of the 12-steps with the science of molecular neuro- biology and neurogenetics. ItisimportanttonotethatalthoughthebookreferstoAA,duetounderstanding the shared neurological mechanisms between alcohol, drugs, nicotine, food and other behavioral addictions like, internet, gambling, sex and shopping, although there are some differences, the term AA has been used interchangeably with NA and any other behavioral self-help programs based on the 12 step and fellowship. Acknowledgments TheauthorswouldliketothankKarynHurley,ExecutiveDirectoroftheNational InstituteofHolisticAddictionStudiesandPamelaGraham,adrugabusecounselor at Malibu Beach Recovery Center for their very knowledgeable comments and remarkable spirit. The authors are indebted to the superb editing of Margaret A. Madigan,andfortheinsightfulandinvaluableinputfromBenThompson,aPh.D. candidateat BostonUniversityanda12-step philosopher.Theauthorswouldlike to specially thank the following for their unconditional support: B. William Downs, Roger L. Waite, James Heaney, Mary Hauser, Thomas Simpatico, David E. Smith, Joan Borsten, and Eric R. Braverman. Marlene Oscar-Berman is the recipientofgrantsfromtheNationalInstitutesofHealth,NIAAA(RO1-AA07112 and K05-AA00219) and the Medical Research Service of the US Department of Veterans Affairs. ix Contents 1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.1 Alcoholics Anonymous/Narcotic Anonymous . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 2 Molecular Neurobiology of Recovery with the Twelve Steps . . . . . 11 2.1 Step 1: We Admitted that We were Powerless Over Alcohol—that Our Lives had Become Unmanageable . . . . . . . 11 2.1.1 Loss of Control (Powerlessness) and Molecular Neurobiology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 2.1.2 Unmanageable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 2.2 Step 2: Came to Believe that a Power Greater than Ourselves Could Restore Us to Sanity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 2.2.1 Genospirituality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 2.2.2 Sanity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 2.2.3 Development of a Genetic Map to Identify Individuals at Risk for Impaired Judgment . . . . . . . . . . 26 2.3 Step 3: Made a Decision to Turn Our Will and Our Lives Over to the Care of God as We Understood Him. . . . . . . . . . . 28 2.3.1 Will/Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 2.4 Step 4: Made a Searching and Fearless Moral Inventory of Ourselves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 2.4.1 Brain Reward Circuitry Impairment During Protracted Abstinence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 2.5 Step 5: Admitted to God, to Ourselves, and to Another Human Being the Exact Nature of Our Wrongs. . . . . . . . . . . . 38 2.5.1 Understanding the High Mind. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 2.5.2 Insights into the Mystery of Anxiety and Aggressive Behavior of the Alcoholic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 2.6 Step 6: Were Entirely Ready to have God Remove All These Defects of Character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 2.6.1 Honesty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 xi xii Contents 2.7 Step 7: Humbly Asked Him to Remove Our Shortcomings. . . . 47 2.8 Step 8: Made a List of All Persons We had Harmed, and Became Willing to Make Amends to Them All. . . . . . . . . 50 2.8.1 Friendship. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 2.8.2 Families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 2.8.3 Happiness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 2.9 Step 9: Made Direct Amends to Such People Wherever Possible, Except When to do so Would Injure Them or Others. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 2.10 Step 10: Continued to Take Personal Inventory and When We were Wrong Promptly Admitted it. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 2.11 Step 11: Sought Through Prayer and Meditation to Improve Our Conscious Contact with God, as We Understood Him, Praying Only for Knowledge of His Will for Us and the Power to Carry that Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 2.12 Step 12: Having had a Spiritual Awakening as the Result of These Steps, We Tried to Carry this Message to Alcoholics, and to Practice These Principles in All Our Affairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 3 Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Description:
Humans are biologically programmed to seek out pleasurable experiences. These experiences are processed in the mesolimbic system, also referred to as the "reward center" of the brain, where a number of chemical messengers work in concert to provide a net release of dopamine in the Nucleus Accumbens.
See more

The list of books you might like

Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.