Chances are you know someone with an addiction. According to
the National
Institute of Health one
in 10 Americans over the age of 12 classified with substance abuse or
dependence. Addiction is arguably as
tough for the addicted’s loved ones as is for the afflicted. Therefore finding
the causes of addiction and efficient ways to treat people with addiction is a
win-win for all parties.
Previous studies have determined multiple regions of the
brain were important in addiction behaviors (amygdala, nucleus accumbens, mesotelencephalic
dopamine system), but N. Nasier et al. was interested in the area
of the brain called the insula. The insula is the region of the brain responsible
for self-awareness and conscious urges. To investigate the insula’s role in
addiction, this research team looked at habitual smokers who had had brain
injury to their insula, or another area of the brain. N, Nasir et al. hypothesized
correctly that damage to the insula was critical to maintaining addiction to
smoking, and damage would disrupt addiction.
http://quantum-mind.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/image027.jpg
They found that the ratio of participants who had a disruption
in their addiction (aka kicked their smoking addiction) was much higher in the
group who had had damage to their insula (12/13) compared to the group who had injuries
in other parts of the brain (4/9) P = 0.00008. The researchers ran
multiple cross analyses to determine that the insula ,was indeed the area of
the brain that contributed most significantly to participants’ success in quitting
smoking and their resistance to relapse. One man who suffered a stroke to his
left insula stated his, “body forgot the urge to smoke.” This statement highlights
the insula’s involvement in addictive urges.
More
studies will have to be done to determine if the insula’s role in smoking addiction
reaches to other forms of addictive behavior
as well. If so, future pharmaceuticals and therapies could be aimed at targeting
this brain region to increase the success rate of treating people with addiction.
Wouldn’t it be a wonderful world if we could finally offer a guaranteed method
for those people who suffer from addiction to get back to a life without a
crippling addiction?
Nasir H.
Naqvi, David Rudrauf, Hann Damasio, and Antoine Bechara. Damage to the Insula
Disrupts Addiction to Cigarette Smoking. Science 26 January 2007: 315 (5811), 531-534.
[DOI:10.1126/science.1135926]
Link to
full text: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/315/5811/531.full
These findings are super amazing! I know specifically know several people who have an addiction problem, and like you said it does affect the addict as much as it affects the family members and loved ones. I wonder with these finding with more research if it is continued to be proven that the insula does indeed have a large affect on addiction, how they will use this information to treat addiction. Would you use some kind of medication for that time to inhibit the insula to work properly so that the person suffering from addiction could quit? Or how could this be gone about? This information is huge to know and how wonderful would it be to have a treatment that for addicts that help get them back to a healthy lifestyle as quickly as this may be able to.
ReplyDeleteI also think this information is super interesting as I have been battling a chewing tobacco addiction ever since I went to Afghanistan. It is extremely hard to get off of as it is all I think about when I do attempt to quit. My question for the idea of using a medication to inhibit the insula so someone can quit their addiction is, would this result in someone having to be on this medication the rest of their life? I feel like once the insula starts working properly again they will have this remembrance of their addiction and start it up again. This insula inhibition showed to work in people with strokes but that is because their insula is damaged and will continue to be damaged. They don't have the ability to re-gain normal function of it, which someone taking medicine will have. I just think it will be interesting to know if a period of insula inhibition will show the same results as the person who had a stroke and now has a damaged insula.
ReplyDelete