Abstract

CASSIANI MIRANDA, Carlos Arturo. Addictive disorders such as brain diseases: Analysis of the evidence and practical implications. Salud, Barranquilla [online]. 2018, vol.34, n.1, pp.185-193. ISSN 0120-5552.  https://doi.org/10.14482/sun.34.1.8600.

In the last decades, neuroscientific research has supported the fact that addictions are diseases of the brain such as epilepsy or Parkinson’s disease. The punitive approach to manage addictions has not yielded satisfactory results, therefore the basic and clinical research provides growing evidence that addiction could be better considered and treated as an acquired brain disease which constitute the brain disease model of addictions. With the development of this model, significant progress has been achieved in the implementation of prevention and more effective treatment strategies and also better informed public health policies. However, the concept of addiction as a brain disease is still being questioned. This article presents arguments to consider substance use disorder as a disease caused by alterations in the structure and functioning of specific areas of the brain, as well as to visualize the clinical implications and the public policies of this disease model.

Keywords : Substance-Related Disorders; Brain Diseases; Review.

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