COLLIERS ARTICLE SUMMARY

For the full article go to: The Addictive Brain: All Roads Lead to Dopamine

COLLIERS

The Addiction Gene: Why Millions are Inherently at Risk

Can you imagine jumping out of a plane without a Parachute? In regards with addictions many do, why?

Addiction is a global and widespread problem in today’s society. In 2008, Americans aged 18-24 had the highest rate of alcohol use disorder… and drug use disorder… Men are more likely than women to have problems with alcohol or drugs. 2007 saw 182 million prescriptions written for pain medications. As our late US president has stated many times “Just Say NO” should be the logical answer to this addiction problem.

SCIENCE MEETS RECOVERY

Through the conviction that drug and alcohol dependence was a DISEASE rather than a Symptom of Moral Weakness was growing in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, there was no knowledge of how the disease might be acquired or treated.

The good news is the acceptance of “Reward Deficiency Syndrome” (RDS) as an umbrella term for a predisposition to obsessive, compulsive and impulsive behaviors that are associated with genetic differences that can lead to addiction, paves the way to defining addiction as a brain disorder involving impairments in so called “Reward Circuitry.” This definition of addiction has now been adopted by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) and DMS-5, and is a realization that paved the way for changes and advancements in treatment options.

1. Serotonin the hypothalamus indirectly activates opiate receptors and causes a release of Enkephalins in the ventral tegmental region A - The Enkephains inhibit the firing of GABA which originates in the substantia nigra A-region; 2. GABA normal  role is to inhibit and control the amount of dopamine released at  the ventral tegmentol regions for action at the nucleus accumbens. When the Dopamine is released in the nucleus accumbens it activates Dopamine 02 receptors, a key reward site. This releaseis also regulated by Enkephalins acting through GABA. The supply of Enkephallns is controlled by the amount of the neu­ropeptidases, which destroy them. 3. Dopamine may also be released info the amygdala. From the amygdalo,dopa­ mine reaches the hippocampus and the CA, cluster cells stfmulates dopamine D2 receptors,another reward site. 4. An alternate pathway involves norepinephrine in the locus of ceruleus whose fibers project into the hippocampus at a reward area centering around cluster cells which have not been precisely identified, but which have been designated     as CAx. When GABAA receptors in the hippocampus are stimulated, they cause the release of norepinephrine at the CAx site. It is to be noted that the glucose receptor (GR) in the hypothalamus is intricately involved and "'links" the seroto­   nergic system with opioid peptides leading to the ultirmate release of dopamine   at the n.accumbens.

ALL ROADS LEAD TO DOPAMINE

Once it was true, all roads lead to Rome. This simple truth is not too dissimilar from the reward circuitry of the brains of Homo Sapiens. Numerous experiments have established that the brain’s major reward neurotransmitter pathway, the road to Rome, is indeed Dopamine. Reward circuitry, the cascade of neurotransmission in the brain that leads to the release of Dopamine, is kicked off by any pleasurable experience. Everything from Eating, the having Sex and even Skydiving can get it going. The point of the reward circuitry is to positively reinforce actions that promote the survival of the species. During what the brain perceives to be beneficial actions, Dopamine’s release makes out brains “happy,” thus encouraging us to do it again.

TREATMENT OPTIONS

Given that about 30% of us are born with genetically induced Low Dopamine brain function how can we overcome this survival variant of human nature and prevent excessive craving behavior?... Mark Gold, chairmen of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Florida, College of Medicine in Gainesville, accurately stated, “In spite of all the effort and progress made by the addiction community, as a whole it has failed to both comprehend and willingly incorporate well established, evidence-based medical modalities into treatment, especially as it relates to relapse prevention.” I am encouraged that for the first time in this millennium the addiction community is prepared to embrace newer scientific and clinically proven modalities. In this regard, the following areas must be adequately addressed by treatment providers going forward:

• Genetic testing to determine risk for RDS
• Safe and Effective non-addictive Dopamine Agonist known as Synaptamine (KB220Z) to activate Dopaminergic pathways in the brain…

To date, the bottleneck is that typical pharmaceutical agents that have activation qualities are too powerful and have profound contraindications and side-effects. The good news is that the Dopaminergic system can be safely & effectively stimulated with a patented natural, non-addictive Dopamine Agonist known as Synaptamine (KB220Z). Neuroimaging tools such as (qEEG, fMRI and PET) have been used to demonstrate the impact and effectiveness of Synaptamine as a safe activator of brain reward Dopamine… (See La Vita Studies)

Ultimately, it should have benefits in the form of craving reduction, prevention of relapse, and quite possibly prevention of all RDS behaviors, especially in adolescents…

CONCLUSION

Finally, it should be stated just because you have a genetic predisposition does not mean you will automatically become an addict... As Steven Susman of the University of southern California points out, rather than being a victim to our genetic factors based on our DNA, RDS is highly impacted by environmental (epigenetic) factors affecting our RNA… The take home message is one is not doomed because of their genes to become addict, but definitely at high risk. This is why Synaptamine was invented so that a compound could possible reduce the cravings associated with RDS and other environmental and behavioral tool can be implemented so these genes are not activated or woken up.

Additional Resources

JOURNAL REWARD DEFICIENCY SYNDROME

JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL ADDICTIONS