Question

Module #1 – Introducing Psychology and Social Context: In the article, a clinical neuroscientist by the name of Dr. Anna Rose Childress explained that she’s had patients who relapsed but couldn’t explain what prompted it. As Dr. Childress explained, “They were walking around in environments where most of the time one thing or another had been signals for cocaine. They were basically getting primed, having that ancient reward system tingled. By the time they became conscious of it, it was like a snowball rolling downhill.” From what we’ve learned about how our environment shapes our behavior, explain what Dr. Childress means by her statement. What specific forces are at work here, and how do these “triggers” associated with addiction impact a person’s behaviors and treatment.

Answer 1

Exposing the abstinent to the drug of abuse is likely to trigger drug-seeking behavior and drug self-administration. This is also the case with stimuli that have a pre-existing association with a the drug, and this can lead to both craving and relapse. These stimuli can include any items, places, or people associated with the drug. The repeated use of drugs strengthens both stimulus-response and stimulus-reward associations. This sensitizes the neural pathway associated with addiction and strengthens the relationship between the drug of use and its associated cues. Hence, exposure to these cues can induce a neurochemical response in the abstinent that mimics the drug and thus triggers relapse.