Neuroscience Addiction

From a renowned behavioral neuroscientist and recovering addict, a rare pause-resisting work of science that draws on personal insights to reveal how drugs work, the dangerous hold they can take on the brain, and the surprising way to combat today's epidemic of addiction. Judith Grisel was a daily drug user and college dropout when she began to consider that her addiction might have a cure, one that she herself could perhaps discover by studying the brain. Now, after 25 years as a neuroscientist, she shares what she and other scientists have learned about addiction.

New hope for those suffering from conditions like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, addictions, PTSD, ADHD, and more. Though incidence of these conditions is skyrocketing, for the past four decades standard treatment hasn’t much changed, and success rates in treating them have barely improved, either. Meanwhile, the stigma of the “mental illness” label - damaging and devastating on its own - can often prevent sufferers from getting the help they need. Brain specialist and best-selling author Dr. Daniel Amen aims to change all that.

To understand something, you need to know its history. Right? Wrong, says Alex Rosenberg in How History Gets Things Wrong. Feeling especially well-informed after reading a book of popular history on the best-seller list? Don't. Narrative history is always, always wrong. It not just incomplete or inaccurate but deeply wrong, as wrong as Ptolemaic astronomy. We no longer believe that the earth is the center of the universe. Why do we still believe in historical narrative? Our attachment to history as a vehicle for understanding has a long Darwinian pedigree and a genetic basis.

Neuroscience confirms that communication and emotional attachments can change opinions and behaviors. Explaining the link between the human brain and conduct has always been one of the most interesting and challenging aspects of scientific studies. The sequencing of genes, and development in molecular biology, have illuminated the cause and cure of many neurological diseases and us the knowledge of how the brain controls behavior.

With this practical guide, we explore the miracle of recovery from dependency and provide insight into the addiction phenomena. Steering away from a one-dimensional approach, addiction is recognized as a multi-dimensional problem that requires examination of the mind, body, and social aspects of our existence. I provide practical advice on how to return your identity’s locus of control to where it is supposed to be, and that is, with "you". Your sense of identity may indeed become lost with addiction and it needs to be found again and actively reclaimed.