Like many other
diseases, vulnerability to addiction is influenced by multiple factors, with
genetic, environmental, and developmental factors all contributing. Genetics
accounts for approximately half of an individual’s vulnerability to addiction,
including the effects of the environment on gene function and expression.
Elements of our
social environments—culture, neighborhoods, schools, families, peer groups— can
also greatly influence individual choices and decisions about behaviors related
to substance abuse, which can in turn affect vulnerability. Indeed, addiction
is a quintessential gene-byenvironment- interaction disease: a person must be
exposed to drugs (environment) to become addicted, yet exposure alone does not
determine whether that will happen—predisposing genes interact with this and
other environmental factors to create vulnerability. In fact, environmental
variables such as stress or drug exposure can cause lasting changes to genes and
their function, known as epigenetic changes, which can result in long-term
changes to brain circuits.
Adding to the
complexity, the contributions of environmental and genetic risk factors may
also vary during the different life stages of childhood, adolescence, and young
adulthood. Adolescence is the period when addiction typically takes hold.
Additionally, because their brains are still undergoing rapid development in
areas that contribute to decision-making, judgment, and risk-taking,
adolescents tend toward immediate gratification over long-term goals. This can
lead to risk-taking, including experimenting with drugs. When coupled with
their increased sensitivity to social or peer influences and decreased
sensitivity to negative consequences of behavior, it is easy to see why
adolescents are particularly vulnerable to drug abuse.
How
Can People Recover Once They’re Addicted?
As with any other
medical disorder that impairs the function of vital organs, repair and recovery
of the addicted brain depends on targeted and effective treatments that must
address the complexity of the disease. We continue to gain new insights into
ways to optimize treatments to counteract addiction’s powerful disruptive
effects on brain and behavior because we now know that with prolonged
abstinence, our brains can recover at least some of their former functioning,
enabling people to regain control of their lives. Brain supplements can help in
this endeavor offering sufficient nutrients and maintaining chemical balance in
the brain. But they must be taken advising medical practitioners.
