published_or_final_version / Clinical Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

High Summer is a manuscript-length compilation of narrative science essays that trace the relationship the narrator has with her father. These essays focus on the ongoing presence of drugs, their historical basis, and their pharmacological effects on the body. / by Michelle Hasler Martinez. / Thesis (M.F.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Thesis (MPH.) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / PURPOSE OR OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate factors that contribute to the relapse of substance abusers post rehabilitation at South African National Council On Alcoholism And Drug Dependence (SANCA) Polokwane. METHOD: A quantitative research method or approach, and a descriptive research design were employed respectively to conduct the study. Data was collected using group-administered questionnaires / surveys amongst substance abusers who relapsed post rehabilitation at the SANCA, and a total number of sixty-one (61) respondents at the centre responded to the questionnaires. FINDINGS: Findings revealed that personal factors that predisposed the relapse of substance abusers post rehabilitation include lack of coping mechanism; less committed and motivated towards staying clean or sober; having a craving for drugs; challenged with too many triggers; lack of believe in themselves; thinking they could deal with their emotions by using drugs; thinking they could be able to control my use; community members still look down on them for using drugs; peer pressure from peer group; easily influenced by others; significant relationship in their lives ending; social group still abusing drugs; finding it difficult to avoid social gathering; lack of financial support; feeling lonely and being bored. Findings also indicated that substance abuser receive sufficient support from their family. On the contrary, however, findings further show that respondents have indicated that they receive poor from their friends, community members, peers and the rehabilitation centre attended. CONCLUSION: The study successfully identified, and discussed diverse causes or factors that contribute or influence relapse amongst substance abusers post rehabilitation at SANCA, as listed above. Furthermore, also assessing the availability of social support systems post rehabilitation.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Drug addiction is a behavioral disorder characterized by impulsive behavior and continued intake of drug in the face of adverse consequences. Millions of people suffer the financial and social consequences of addiction, and yet many of the current therapies for addiction treatment have limited efficacy. Therefore, there is a critical need to characterize the neurobiological substrates of addiction in order to formulate better treatment options. In the first chapter, the striatal dopamine system is interrogated with [11C]raclopride PET to assess differences between chronic cannabis users and healthy controls. The results of this chapter indicate that chronic cannabis use is not associated with a reduction in striatal D2/D3 receptor availability, unlike many other drugs of abuse. Additionally, recent cannabis consumption in chronic users was negatively correlated with D2/D3 receptor availability. Chapter 2 describes a retrospective analysis in which striatal D2/D3 receptor availability is compared between three groups of alcohol-drinking and tobacco-smoking subjects: nontreatment-seeking alcoholic smokers, social-drinking smokers, and social-drinking non-smokers. Results showed that smokers had reduced D2/D3 receptor availability throughout the striatum, independent of drinking status. The results of the first two chapters suggest that some combustion product of marijuana and tobacco smoke may have an effect on striatal dopamine concentration. Furthermore, they serve to highlight the effectiveness of using baseline PET imaging to characterize dopamine dysfunction in addictions. The final chapter explores the use of [18F]fallypride PET in a proof-of-concept study to determine whether changes in cortical dopamine can be detected during a response inhibition task. We were able to detect several cortical regions of significant dopamine changes in response to the task, and the amount of change in three regions was significantly associated with task performance. Overall, the results of Chapter 3 validate the use of [18F]fallypride PET to detect cortical dopamine changes during a impulse control task. In summary, the results reported in the current document demonstrate the effectiveness of PET imaging as a tool for probing resting and activated dopamine systems in addiction. Future studies will expand on these results, and incorporate additional methods to further elucidate the neurobiology of addiction.