Addiction touches us all. By some estimates, 25% of Americans might be addicts. What happens when your brain is on drugs? Discover the neural mechanisms that underlie the behaviors of addiction, and see how drugs and activities like gambling can hijack the brain and lead to behavioral problems. Understanding addiction can motivate an addict to seek treatment, and can lead loved ones to see the addict in a new way.
The Addictive Brain
Discover the neural mechanisms that underlie the behaviors of addiction in this fascinating course taught by one of the top cognitive neuroscientists in the country.
Rated 4 out of
5
by
Yorr from
Professor Polk was very knowledgeable of his course content and very thorough on the subject matter. He related scientific studies that emphasized his points. Used imagery where it was needed to present an idea. Course content flowed smoothly and transitioned well into other topics of discussion and reviewed previous material to tie it all together. Nicely done professor. Only thing to criticize would be his monotone voice could use more inflection to continue getting our attention.
Date published: 2024-09-03
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Ashwani from
I have quit marijuana
Discover the step-by-step guide to reclaiming your life and freedom from weed with our empowering eBook
[ Quit Marijuana Guide: Your Guide to Overcoming Marijuana Dependency - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CLDHW25H ]
Date published: 2024-04-18
Rated 4 out of
5
by
GUNTHERG from
CBD VS THC IN MARIJUANA
I'm inspired to write this review in a coffee shop in a small town, outside of which there are half a dozen homeless street people sitting on the sidewalk. No doubt many of them have/ had addictions. THE ADDICTIVE BRAIN explains a great deal about addiction cycles. However, Lecture #8 The Science of Marijuana troubled me. That is because Prof. Polk made no distinction between the two chief components of marijuana--CBD & THC. CBD has no psychoactive effects. THC, on the other hand, is the component that gets the user high and becomes perhaps addicted. On one hand, CBD is very effective at non-addictive pain control. On the other, THC creates addiction. Even more troubling about "recreational marijuana" use of THC is that at any dispensary the THC products sold are distilled and extremely concentrated. At these high concentrations than weed in its natural state, THC concentrates are very effective at creating psychological problems, which is being seen in high school and even younger students. By blurring the distinction between legitimate medical use of CBD to control pain and THC to get the user high, the "medical marijuana" lobby has sold the lie that concentrated THC is harmless. It is not! Perhaps I should cut Prof. Polk some slack, since this video was made in 2015 before the medical marijuana dispensary lobby has achieved success across much of America.
Date published: 2023-08-16
Rated 2 out of
5
by
Turgs from
feels like i'm watching an infomercial
This show is not meant for addicts, only those who want to learn about it but have no issues themselves. It is very basic and for those who know nothing about addiction. It's also incredibly white and lacks diversity.
There a few things he said that was inaccurate. For example, he said that pharmaceutical are given out without people getting addicted. I'd argue that many of thousands of people are addicts because they were introduced to opioids through the health system.
He also said that addicts often end up neglecting tasks because of their addiction, but avoiding tasks is a huge reason for the addiction, He words everything as if the addict has no choice but to be a slave to the addiction, but I engage in the addiction so I can avoid the task, its an active choice I make because the task seems too difficult - which is why I have the addiction. Avoiding tasks is not a RESULT of an addiction, the want to avoid is often the CAUSE of the addiction.
Date published: 2023-04-16
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Saililng Zatara from
Great for my High School Homeschool students
We watched this course as an addition to our Science/Biology homeschool program, and it was extremely informative and kept the kids' interest the entire time. At first, I was afraid the lecturer would bore my kids, but I was shocked; they watched with interest each entire lecture. Coupled with diagrams, statistics, and visual explanations, it was very engaging; I would definitely recommend.
Date published: 2023-01-30
Rated 5 out of
5
by
The Big E from
Great courses
I found each of the courses I purchased to be informative and applicable to mu needs.
Date published: 2021-12-21
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Tige from
what i was looking for
Polk provides interesting information without sounding like an obnoxious "sage on the stage."
Date published: 2021-11-18
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Charmed from
Very nicely and knowledgeably presented.
This helps me understand the addicts we work with in a church setting.
Date published: 2021-11-03
Overview
About
Thad A. Polk is the Samuel D. Epstein Collegiate Professor of Psychology and an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor at the University of Michigan. He earned an interdisciplinary PhD in Computer Science and Psychology from Carnegie Mellon University and received postdoctoral training in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania. His teaching has been recognized by numerous awards, and he was named to The Princeton Review’s list of the Best 300 Professors in the United States.
Trailer
01: Addiction 101
Begin your course by defining "addiction," which is diagnosed based on characteristics such as abuse, dependence, and craving. Professor Polk then surveys the history of drug use, from ancient history through the development of synthetics in the 19th and 20th centuries. Finally, he reviews government regulation and the substantial costs of drug abuse, both to the individual and to society.
34 min
02: The Psychology and Neuroscience of Reward
Explore the brain's mechanisms for learning from reinforcement. You'll start with the psychological aspects, discovering the way humans learn by a series of trials and rewards. Then you'll find out what parts of the brain process pleasure, self-control, and craving, and see how the psychology and neuroscience of reward processing converge....
31 min
03: How Addiction Hijacks the Brain
Here you'll examine the ways addiction alters the brain by numbing the pleasure center, sensitizing the dopamine system, and inhibiting the prefrontal cortex. Combined, these altered brain functions lead to strong cravings and a reduced ability to control one's actions. This foray into neuroscience will forever change the way you think about addiction....
33 min
04: Genetics-Born to Be an Addict?
Investigate how people may be susceptible to addiction on a genetic level. Thanks to studies of twins and DNA analysis, scientists are homing in on the genes that predispose us toward addiction. While there is no single "addiction gene," our DNA can significantly influence whether we become addicts....
32 min
05: Your Brain on Drugs
Shift your attention from the nature of addiction to the nature of drugs. Here you'll delve into the process of neurochemical transmission and see how drugs mimic this activity by binding to neural receptors. This process is responsible for everything from a drug's physical and psychological effects to its potency....
29 min
06: Why We Crave Coffee and Cigarettes
Caffeine and nicotine are two of the most common psychoactive drugs in our society. How do they work? How dangerous are they? After reviewing how each of these drugs affects the brain-and why nicotine in particular is so addictive-Professor Polk offers several strategies to quit tobacco use....
33 min
07: Alcohol-Social Lubricant or Drug of Abuse?
Alcohol is often discussed separately from other drugs, but as you'll discover in this lecture, alcohol affects the human body in many of the same ways. Take a close look at your brain on alcohol to explore dependence, withdrawal, and genetic susceptibility. Then review several treatment options for alcohol abuse....
30 min
08: The Science of Marijuana
Although there is no shortage of controversy around marijuana, whose legal status now varies from state to state, the science of this drug may surprise you. Through the lens of the neuroscientist, Professor Polk tours the effects, and the possible medicinal value, of marijuana....
31 min
09: Stimulants-From Cocaine to Ritalin
From the original recipe for Coca-Cola to treatments for attention deficit disorder, psychostimulant drugs have had remarkable uses. But they have also been dangerously abused in the form of crack cocaine, methamphetamine, and related drugs. Find out how stimulants work in the brain and why they can be so harmful....
32 min
10: The Science of Poppies, Pleasure, and Pain
Round out your survey of the world's major drugs with an examination of opium and its derivatives, from regularly prescribed painkillers like codeine and morphine to heroin, often considered the most harmful drug of abuse in the world today. Learn about the neurological effects and treatment options for opiate drugs....
33 min
11: The Gambler's Brain
Are drugs the only thing humans can get addicted to? What about behaviors? To answer this question, take a look at what happens inside the brain of a compulsive gambler. As this case study reveals, many of the same neurochemical processes of drug abuse-from genetic predisposition to dopamine release-also accompany addiction to behaviors....
32 min
12: Junk Food, Porn, Video Games-Addictions?
The course concludes with an exploration of other potentially addictive behaviors. Professor Polk argues that some artificial stimuli-junk food, pornography, and video games to name three-are "supernormal," meaning that they actually activate the brain's reward circuit more strongly than natural stimuli do, leading to some of the same neurological effects as drug use....
35 min
