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It has been proposed that relapse vulnerability in previously dependent individuals results from augmentation of drug-induced reinforcement due to repeated associations between the interoceptive properties of the drug and reduction of acute withdrawal distress. To test this hypothesis, male Sprague-Dawley rats self-administered 0.05 mg/kg/inf heroin on continuous and progressive ratio (PR) schedules. During this period, they also received injections of vehicle or escalating doses of heroin. Following tests of naloxone-precipitated withdrawal (0.01 or 0.1 mg/kg, SC), as well as abstinence (4 days), and extinction training (9 sessions), they were pre-treated with vehicle or yohimbine (0.5 mg/kg, IV) and tested for resumption of heroin self-administration (0.05 mg/kg/inf) on continuous and PR schedules (Experiments 1 & 2), or tested for reinstatement in extinction conditions. Differences between vehicle- and heroin-injected rats were noted on self-administration on the continuous reinforcement schedule, but not on the PR schedule, in spite of greater signs of withdrawal precipitated by naloxone in the heroin-injected rats. More importantly, there were no group differences in resumption of heroin self-administration, and this was not altered by yohimbine. These results suggest that relapse vulnerability cannot be uniquely ascribed to the altered reinforcing action of drugs; contextual and other conditioning factors must play a role in modulating resumption of drug intake after periods abstinence.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 246-254) Also available in print.

Tübingen, Univ., Diss., 2005.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. / "December 2005." Title taken from title screen (viewed October 8, 2007). Includes bibliographical references.

The following proposal will suggest a holistic form of treatment in addition to the current standard outpatient rehabilitation process. The supplementary treatment suggested will be aikido, a form of non-combative martial arts. This proposed study will examine the effectiveness of aikido in lowering distress and aggression. According to the self-medication hypothesis of addiction, an individual’s vulnerability to addiction is drug-specific. For example, heroin users are thought to have a preference for heroin because of the drug’s ability to mask one’s internal threats of rage and aggression (Khantzian, 1985). Since the individual is unable to cope with this aggression, heroin serves as a calming source of relief that serves to mitigate his or her resulting distress. Aikido is renowned for its philosophy of harmonizing aggressive tendencies and it is expected to ultimately replace the calming effects of heroin. 120 participants will partake in this proposed study and each will be randomly assigned to one of four groups: control, aikido practice, aikido philosophy class, and spin class. Participants will answer a series of assessments measuring severity of addiction, distress, and aggression both prior to and post-treatment. These scores will be analyzed and results are expected to support the hypothesis that the aikido practice treatment will yield significantly less distress and aggression, regardless of severity of addiction, when compared to the other treatment groups. If results prove to be significant then Khantzian’s theory will be supported and it will be critical that heroin rehabilitation facilities incorporate aggression and distress reduction programs in their treatment.

Addiction is a chronic relapsing disorder for which there is no effective treatment. This may reflect our lack of understanding of the psychological and neural mechanisms that support the transition, in vulnerable individuals, from recreational drug use to compulsive drug seeking habits. Over the last decade clinical and preclinical studies have begun to shed light on the psychological and neural basis of the individual vulnerability to cocaine addiction, but despite the epidemic in opiates addiction in the USA and incremental opioid drug abuse and addiction in the UK, heroin addiction has hitherto been under-investigated. Using a novel preclinical model of compulsive heroin seeking behaviour in which some rats self-administering heroin persist in responding under a second-order schedule of reinforcement despite punishment (Chapter 3), the experiments in this thesis investigated the psychological, behavioural, neural and cellular mechanisms involved in the vulnerability to develop compulsive heroin seeking. Chapter 4 aimed to identify behavioural traits, such as anxiety, stress reactivity or decision making, that predict an increased vulnerability to develop compulsive heroin seeking. Chapter 5 aimed to characterise the neural and cellular correlates of heroin seeking habits, and compulsivity. Based on the combination of hotspot analysis, quantitative PCR, RNAscope and western-blot analyses, the data presented demonstrate that compulsive habits are associated with a differential pattern of cellular plasticity within corticostriatal networks, and are preceded by diverse cellular adaptations, especially in the striatum, in vulnerable individuals. Finally, chapter 6 further investigated the cellular specificity of the observed adaptations in experiments that revealed exposure to heroin and cocaine, triggers a downregulation of the dopamine transporter preferentially in astrocytes, and not in neurons as previously thought. The results presented in this thesis offer new insights into the neural and cellular basis of the vulnerability to develop compulsive heroin seeking, a key feature of opioid addiction.

This article examines the socio-political intricacies of the United States Opiate Crisis. By first addressing the pharmaceutical origins of Oxycontin and its pain relief benefits within the United States, I construct a framework by which a conversation about substance abuse can move forward. Within the first chapter I provide background into the arguments for medicalization against personal responsibility as it relates to opiate withdrawal and seeking treatment for the prior. Furthermore, I include subheadings to further provide insight into Medically Assisted Treatment Centers and their function on the local level. I contrast these modern treatment models with the Reagan War on Drugs mentalities and illustrate a larger societal tonal shift towards increased medicalization. My second chapter addresses the bulk of my theoretical frameworks, including spatial and feminist theories to construct an argument about patriarchal dominance in relation to factors such as homelessness, race, and socioeconomic status. Finally, in my third chapter I examine the current debate regarding whether or not the U.S. Opiate Crisis can truly be considered a crisis. I address the arguments for why it could still be considered a widespread crisis, and end on the central argument for the crisis being a symptom of Disease of Despair.

Houseboat is the first part of a novel-in-progress set in the coastal town of Apollo, Maine during the Opioid Epidemic.

王瑞芳. / 論文(哲學碩士) -- 香港中文大學硏究院社會工作學部, 1998. / 附參考文獻. / 中英文摘要. / Wang Ruifang. / 致謝 --- p.I / 論文摘要 --- p.II / Chapter 第一章 --- 前言 --- p.1 / Chapter 第一節 --- 研究動機 --- p.1 / Chapter 第二節 --- 香港戒毒康復者的重吸問題 --- p.5 / Chapter 第三節 --- 研究問題和目的 --- p.9 / Chapter 第二章 --- 文獻及理論 --- p.12 / Chapter 第一節 --- 重吸的界說 --- p.12 / Chapter 第二節 --- 重吸成因 --- p.20 / Chapter 第三節 --- 理論架構 --- p.33 / Chapter 第三章 --- 研究方法 --- p.49 / Chapter 第一節 --- 樣本之選取 --- p.49 / Chapter 第二節 --- 問卷設計與編製 --- p.52 / Chapter 第四章 --- 研究结果 --- p.58 / Chapter 第一節 --- 個人背景資料、治療因素、社群(家人 和朋友）因素、歸因及負面情緒等情況 --- p.58 / Chapter 第二節 --- 重吸成癮者和非重吸成癮者的背景資料、 治療因素、社群（家人和朋友）因素 、歸因及負面情緒等情況的比較 --- p.78 / Chapter 第三節 --- 研究假設的檢定 --- p.99 / Chapter 第五章 --- 討論、檢討及建議 --- p.106 / 參考書目 --- p.120 / (附錄一)Marlatt (1996) Relapse Taxonomy / (附錄二） 海洛英重吸成因問卷調查