Drug addiction is not easy to cure. Even after a number of illicit drug users have been to rehab, there are those who still relapse. It has not been easy to pinpoint what causes relapses, though a study made suggests that electric activity in the brain might have something to do with it.
At the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, research on cocaine addicts has been conducted using electroencephalography or EEG. Through its use, researchers have observed that those addicted to cocaine become vulnerable to relapse starting from the first day up to a month of abstinence. These cocaine dependents are most vulnerable from one to six months, as Science Daily reports.
From the study, it shows that there are some triggers that make relapse possible. These are cue-induced cravings, wherein such cues are often those that have, in some way, been associated with drug use. However, what baffles researchers is why there are those who still relapse even after a long time of abstinence.
Researchers have also found out that the period of vulnerability happens mostly at the time of discharge from treatment. The study suggests that those who have been released from treatment relapse once supervision has ended.
"Results of this study are alarming in that they suggest that many people struggling with drug addiction are being released from treatment programs at the time they need the most support," Rita Goldstein, Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine and the principal author of study, said.
The study took about five and a half years involving 76 adults addicted to cocaine, according to News Wise. The participants have different durations of abstinence from the substance, ranging from two days to as much as one year. The participants then looked at different images depicting cocaine use of simulated cocaine use. While they were looking at the images the EEG recorded their reaction. After that the participants also rated their own level of craving from the photos shown.
Research still continues about drug addiction and how to combat it. Much of what drugs do is to induce the brain to release dopamine. Drugs lead the brain to release more dopamine, giving users that all-elusive high. Researchers then are finding ways shorten or cut drug dependency from users just to get more dopamine release.
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