Never Enough: The Neuroscience and Experience of Addiction | Judy Grisel | TEDxPSU
Summary
TLDRThis script addresses the alarming rates of substance use among young people, highlighting the impact of early exposure on developing substance use disorders. It delves into the brain's reward system, illustrating how drugs like marijuana can disrupt the brain's natural homeostatic balance, leading to tolerance and dependence. The speaker's personal journey from addiction to neuroscience research underscores the complexity of addiction and the ongoing search for solutions.
Takeaways
- 🔢 High school students are at significant risk of substance abuse; 70% have consumed alcohol, half have tried illegal drugs, and close to that number have used nicotine.
- 🚫 Early exposure to substances is a major risk factor for developing substance use disorders, with those starting at 14 having seven times the risk of developing an alcohol problem compared to those starting at 21.
- 🧠 The adolescent brain is naturally inclined towards risk-taking and novelty-seeking, which has evolutionary benefits but also primes them for substance experimentation.
- 💉 The speaker's personal story illustrates the severe consequences of substance abuse, including homelessness, hepatitis C, and the need for treatment.
- 🎓 The speaker's academic pursuit in neuroscience reflects the complexity of addiction, which remains an unsolved problem despite extensive research.
- 🌐 Addiction is characterized by craving, compulsive use, tolerance, and dependence, influenced by genetic, environmental, and developmental factors.
- 🧬 Genetics play a role in addiction, with certain tendencies like novelty-seeking and risk-taking being more prevalent in some individuals.
- 🌳 Environmental factors such as access to drugs and stress levels can contribute to the development of addiction.
- 👶 Adverse childhood experiences can prime an individual for addiction, as they may use substances to cope with early trauma.
- 🏠 The concept of homeostatic emotional baseline is introduced, explaining how substances can disrupt this balance and lead to addiction.
- 🍔 The speaker uses the analogy of finding 'bacon' to explain how the brain's endocannabinoid system responds to rewarding experiences, and how THC from marijuana disrupts this natural process.
- 💡 Regular marijuana use can lead to a diminished sense of reward and pleasure, as the brain adapts by reducing the interaction sites, leading to a lack of interest in previously enjoyable activities.
Q & A
What percentage of kids will have drunk alcohol by the time they graduate from high school?
-70% of kids will have drunk alcohol by the time they graduate from high school.
What is one of the primary factors in developing substance use disorders?
-One of the primary factors in developing substance use disorders is early exposure to substances.
How much more likely is a person to develop an alcohol problem if they start drinking by age 14 compared to waiting until 21 or later?
-A person who starts drinking by age 14 is seven times more likely to develop an alcohol problem compared to someone who waits until they are 21 or older.
Why do adolescents take risks according to the speaker?
-Adolescents take risks because they are primed for high risk-taking and novelty seeking, which historically benefited human populations by balancing progress and caution.
What are the characteristics of addiction mentioned in the script?
-Addiction is characterized by craving, compulsive use, tolerance (the drug works less well over time), and dependence (feeling less good than normal without the drug).
What percentage of the risk of addiction is attributed to genetic factors?
-About half of the risk of addiction is attributed to genetic factors.
How does early adverse experiences influence the development of addiction?
-Early adverse experiences can prime a person for developing an addiction as they may use substances to cope with stress.
What is homeostasis in the context of feeling states?
-Homeostasis in the context of feeling states refers to a baseline feeling state that is actively maintained by the nervous system, allowing individuals to gauge if something good or bad happens.
How does the brain adapt to regular substance use according to the speaker?
-The brain adapts to regular substance use by developing tolerance, meaning the substance has less effect over time, and by causing dependence, so that when the substance is not present, the person feels worse than their normal baseline.
What happens to the brain's endocannabinoid system with frequent marijuana use?
-Frequent marijuana use causes the brain to lose interaction sites in the endocannabinoid system, making everything seem less interesting and motivating without the drug, and potentially leading to permanent changes in brain function.
Outlines
📊 The Statistics and Risks of Early Substance Use
This paragraph opens with startling statistics on the prevalence of substance use among high school graduates, highlighting that a significant percentage will have tried alcohol, illegal drugs, or nicotine. It emphasizes the critical issue of early exposure to substances, noting that those who start young are at a higher risk of developing substance use disorders. The evolutionary perspective suggests that risk-taking and novelty-seeking behaviors in adolescents, although beneficial historically, now contribute to substance use. The paragraph also mentions the developmental gap between reward pathways and caution, contributing to identity formation and increased risk-taking.
🚨 Personal Story of Addiction and Recovery
The speaker shares a personal narrative, detailing a journey from early substance use at age 13 to severe addiction. They describe the consequences, including expulsion from schools, homelessness, and health issues like hepatitis C. A turning point comes with entry into a treatment center at 23, leading to a realization about the necessity of abstinence. This experience spurs the speaker to pursue a PhD in neuroscience to understand addiction better. Despite extensive research, they highlight the complexity of addiction, driven by craving, compulsive use, tolerance, and dependence, and influenced by genetic, environmental, and developmental factors.
🔄 Understanding Homeostasis and Its Disruption by Substances
This paragraph introduces the concept of homeostasis, the body's maintenance of a stable internal state, which fluctuates with positive and negative experiences. The speaker explains how substances like alcohol and drugs temporarily alter this state, often at a cost, leading to feelings of discomfort when returning to baseline. The brain adapts to repeated substance use, developing tolerance and dependence. They use personal anecdotes and a broader context to illustrate how these adaptations can lead to a diminished ability to experience pleasure without substances, emphasizing the challenge of maintaining normalcy after addiction.
🍃 The Effects of Marijuana on the Brain
Focusing on marijuana, the speaker explains how its active ingredient, THC, interacts with the brain's endocannabinoid system, which is involved in various functions like learning, memory, and motivation. They describe the natural release of neurotransmitters like anandamide in response to significant experiences and compare it to the widespread and unnatural activation caused by THC. This widespread stimulation leads to a brain adaptation, reducing interaction sites and altering how experiences are processed. The speaker shares personal experiences of how marijuana use made everything seem interesting but eventually led to a lack of motivation and pleasure in regular activities, highlighting the long-term impact on the brain.
🧠 The Long-Term Consequences of Regular Marijuana Use
The final paragraph delves deeper into the consequences of regular marijuana use, particularly during development. It explains how the brain compensates for constant THC exposure by reducing interaction sites, leading to a permanent change in how information is processed. This adaptation results in a diminished ability to find reward and pleasure in everyday activities. The speaker concludes with a reflection on the broader impact of substance abuse, noting it as a leading cause of death for people under 50, and how regular use of addictive drugs can lead to states opposite to those desired. They end with a personal note on the loss of interest and enjoyment in life that came with long-term marijuana use.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Substance Use Disorders
💡Early Exposure
💡Risk-Taking
💡Novelty Seeking
💡Reward Pathways
💡Tolerance
💡Dependence
💡Homeostasis
💡Endocannabinoid System
💡Adverse Experiences
Highlights
By the time they graduate from high school, 70% of kids will have drunk alcohol, half will have tried an illegal drug, and close to that many will have smoked or vaped nicotine.
One in five will have used prescriptions off-label, and early exposure is a primary factor in developing substance use disorders.
The majority of people with substance use disorders began using before they were 18.
Starting to drink alcohol by age 14 increases the chance of developing an alcohol problem by seven times compared to waiting until 21 or older.
High risk-taking, novelty-seeking, and low respect for authority are evolutionary traits that benefited population survival and individual identity development.
There's a developmental gap in the brain where reward pathways and motivation develop faster than caution, impulse control, and abstract reasoning.
Around 10,000 people die every day from drug abuse worldwide.
Personal story: The speaker began drinking at 13, used various drugs, became homeless, contracted hepatitis C, and eventually sought treatment after a decade of substance abuse.
Addiction is characterized by craving, compulsive use, tolerance, and dependence, with risk factors including genetics, environment, and developmental factors.
Early adverse experiences and adolescent exposure significantly increase the risk of developing an addiction.
The brain maintains a homeostatic feeling state baseline, which fluctuates with good and bad experiences.
Alcohol and drugs can temporarily alter this baseline, causing initial euphoria followed by a return to or below baseline, leading to tolerance and dependence.
Marijuana's active ingredient THC interacts with the brain's endocannabinoid system, affecting areas associated with learning, memory, motivation, and reward.
Regular marijuana use during adolescence can permanently alter brain development and how information is processed.
Substance abuse can lead to a loss of interest and motivation in previously rewarding activities, contributing to a cycle of despair and dependence.
Substance abuse is the number one killer for people under 50, and regular use of addictive drugs leads to feeling states opposite to those initially desired.
Transcripts
[Music]
[Applause]
by the time they graduate from high
school 70% of kids will have drunk
alcohol half will have tried an illegal
drug and about close to that many will
have smoked or vape nicotine one in five
will have used prescriptions off-label
these numbers are critical because one
of the primary factors in developing
substance use disorders is early
exposure it's a fact that the majority
of people who have a substance use
disorder began using before they were 18
for instance if you start drinking by 14
you have seven times the chance of
developing an alcohol problem then you
would if you had waited until you were
21 or longer so why do kids take these
risks well they're primed for those
risks and in fact through most of our
evolutionary history high risk taking
and novelty seeking and low respect for
adults and authorities have benefited
the population as a whole it's great to
have a bunch of contrary risk takers
living alongside more cautious folks so
that we have a balance between progress
and caution and these changes are also
really good for them individually
because it helps them to develop their
own identities this tendency to
experiment and take risks is built into
the way the brain develops there's a gap
between the development of reward
pathways and motivation which happens
quicker than those for caution and
impulse control and abstract reasoning
and that serves them again by helping
them to develop their identities and it
serves the rest of us about 10,000
people die everyday from drug abuse
around the world and I should have been
one of those I took my first drink at 13
and was off to the races
I spent the next ten years taking as
many mind-altering chemicals as I could
get my hands on
and as a result of that I was kicked out
of three schools I became homeless I
contracted hepatitis C and I ended up in
treatment right after my 23rd birthday I
thought it was going to be a spa this
was in the 80s so I had no idea what
treatment was but I I got to a treatment
center and they said there that if I
wanted to live I was gonna have to be
abstinent which I thought was terrible
deal I wasn't sure but I figured there
was a back way if I had an illness that
was killing me I was going to figure out
a cure for the illness and then I would
be able to use without dying so I
eventually got a PhD in neuroscience and
I've been researching in the field since
then and I haven't solved it and nobody
else has either what we know is that
addiction is characterized by craving
and compulsive use tolerance meaning
that the drug works less and less well
over time and dependence so that when
the drugs go away you feel less good
than normal and those things are are
mediated by about half of it the risk
comes from genetics and the genetic
factors include things like those we've
been talking about so the tendency
toward novelty seeking and risk-taking
is higher in adolescents in adults but
in some adolescents more than others
environmental factors include things
like access and stress and developmental
factors are really important so adverse
experiences early in your life really
prime a person for developing an
addiction as they use to cope but also
just any adolescent exposure really
increases the risk so to talk about what
addiction is I thought I'd give you this
model and start with the idea that we
have a feeling state homeostatic aliy
maintained baseline so if I bumped into
you on the street later and I said how
are you doing and you said I'm doing
fine
that would be your homeostasis yours
might be different than mine but we all
have one this is really actively
maintained by the nervous system and
it's necessary so that we know if
something good or bad happens
for instance if it's your birthday and
you have a great day
you'll feel better than that and that's
how you know you know something
wonderful has happened I don't know if
you've noticed but the day after your
birthday it's usually a little bit of a
letdown
you don't go right back to your middle
baseline that great day you had kind of
comes with the cost and then you return
to baseline the same thing can happen if
an adverse experience occurs so you feel
maybe worried or threatened if that
threat goes away then you feel relaxed
and especially cooled before again
returning to baseline so basically we
start with this homeostatic lis
maintained feeling state that we kind of
move around as good and bad things
happen and that's how we know if good
and bad things happen well some of us
learn that alcohol and other drugs can
cause changes in that feeling state to
make us feel better than our homeostatic
lis maintained baseline but you'll
notice probably that even a drink or two
has a little cost it might be that you
feel not quite normal or a little bit
hungover or you don't sleep as well and
then you come back to your baseline but
we don't have to stop with a drink or
two do we so you could have more than
one drink or maybe throw in a little
weed and that would be better so we can
we can control the delivery of these
things you can only have so many
birthdays right and you can even take
more than just the alcohol in the weed
and get really happy so that seems great
except it's not from the brains
perspective and the brain will adapt to
cause tolerance so that you're not quite
as happy and even eventually enough
tolerance that you're really feeling
basically normal with your drugs that
adaptation is to maintain the baseline
and that also happens when you take the
drugs away is when you really notice it
so if you're now normal with the drugs
when the drugs are gone you're on the
opposite extreme so I thought we could
take an example
when that's kind of close to my heart I
liked all the drugs I could find but I
especially liked smoking marijuana and
this is popular today about 40% of kids
smoked that hasn't changed in the last
few years so much but what has change is
that they're smoking more so many more
smoking daily or frequently and I
thought I'd describe how marijuana works
on the brain and how homeostasis is
maintained so marijuana works THC is the
active ingredient that produces the high
and it activates this endocannabinoid
system that we naturally have so inand
my dand to arachidonic juicer all or 2ag
are neurotransmitters that interact with
all the black spots you're looking at
all over the brain all over the cortex
and areas associated with learning and
memory associated with motivation
associated with reward and when those
chemicals interact they have an effect
obviously our brain wouldn't make these
for no reason I thought I would explain
the effect by telling a story about my
dog my puppy
it was now a hundred pounds but when he
was little he was walking around the
front yard one day and my daughter
dropped a piece of bacon and I could
really practically see his brain light
up he didn't know there was bacon
certainly not living in the grass and I
imagine that his olfactory areas and his
taste sensory cortex his reward areas
may be learning in memory all were
activated with little squirts of an and
amide or two AG to sort of let him know
Wow
bacon this is awesome the same thing
happens for us I don't know what your
bacon is it might be a great line of
poetry or music or some wonderful idea
you have or a good talk but you'll
release these chemicals to let you know
that's something really salient or
relevant is going on
the reason this system is all over the
brain is because we never know what
exactly we're going to find important it
helps us to sort what's important by
sort of highlighting those events or
experience
that are particularly meaningful and
this plays a big role in learning in
memory and it really helps us sort what
we care about and what we don't care
about no THC is a little different isn't
it because it's not sympathize
synthesized and released when we have
great experiences we just smoke it in a
bong or a high potency joint and it goes
all over the brain and it all those
interacts in all those black spots so in
other words everything is bacon which is
a lot of fun I think I loved that you
know everything was so more much more
rich and meaningful and even a tedious
day at work could be interesting of
course the brain doesn't like it this
way because then you can really can't
tell when something important happens so
it compensates and the way it does is
illustrated in this picture of again rat
brains on the left your left is a rat
that has had no THC or tasty like analog
and on the right is a brain all the way
on the right that had a high dose for
about 14 days and I bet that my brain
when I stopped smoking looked a lot like
the one on the right and what it felt
like to me was that nothing was really
interesting nothing was motivating
nothing was really worthwhile time with
my family yeah you know my aspirations
not so important anymore the only way in
fact that I could find anything worth
doing was to be completely stoned this
happens to people who smoke a lot of
weed you can see in the green all the
areas that there's these interaction
sites are lost and regular smokers and
if this is occurring during development
when meaning is so important we're
supposed to be trying new things and
figuring out who we are then the cortex
is organized differently those effects
in blue are probably permanent and they
lead to a kind of a different way of
processing information one important
thing about the way we process
information if we smoke a lot of weed is
that what we used to find
rewarding and pleasurable is no longer
that important so back to our model it's
fun to get high acute with the
occasional use but if you do it
regularly your brain is going to adapt
getting rid of those interaction sites
so that now you're not really high and
when the weed goes away there's a lot of
despair substance abuse is the number
one killer for people under 50 and if we
take addictive drugs on a regular basis
they cause feeling states exactly
opposite to the ones we want to have
when I started smoking weed I loved how
it made everything interesting and fun
by the time I quit smoking nothing was
interesting and nothing was fun thank
you for listening
you
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