Chapter 3 infographic image description

The title of the infographic is, Thinking Critically About: Tolerance and Addiction

The Learning Objective Question reads, What roles do tolerance and addition play in substance use disorders, and how has the concept of addiction changed?

The infographic has three sections namely, tolerance, addiction, and behavioral addictions. The information in each section reads as follows:

1. Tolerance: With continued use of alcohol and some other drugs (but not marijuana), users develop tolerance as their brain chemistry adapts to offset the drug effect (neuroadaptation). To experience the same effect, users require larger and larger doses, which increase the risk of becoming addicted and developing a substance use disorder. A schematic shows a man with a bottle in his hand; text corresponding to his whirling head reads, drinks rarely. Another schematic shows a man who drinks frequently standing steadily, many bottles are placed next to him. A graph plots drug effect on the vertical axis from little effect to big effect, and drug dose on the horizontal axis from small to large. The graph shows two ascending curves, the first curve represents response to first exposure and it is to the left of the other curve which corresponds to the text: after repeated exposure, more drug is needed to produce same effect.
2. Addiction: Caused by ever-increasing doses of most psychoactive drugs (including prescription painkillers). Prompts user to crave the drug, to continue use despite adverse consequences, and to struggle when attempting to withdraw from it. These behaviors suggest a substance use disorder. Once in the grip of addiction, people want the drug more than they like the drug (Berridge et all., 2009; Robinson and Berridge, 2003). A schematic of a globe corresponds to text that reads, 4 percent of the world’s people have an alcohol use disorder (WHO, 2014b). The lifetime odds of getting hooked after using various drugs is presented in a bar graph as follows: Marijuana-9 percent; Cocaine-21 percent; Alcohol-23 percent; and Tobacco-68 percent. Source: National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related conditions (Lopez-Quintero et al.,2011). A schematic shows a cigarette tied in a knot accompanied by text that reads, therapy or group support such as from Alcoholics Anonymous, may help. It also helps to believe that addictions are controllable and that people can change. Many people do voluntarily stop using addictive drugs, without any treatment. Most ex-smokers have kicked the habit on their own (Newport, 2013b).
3. Behavior addictions: Psychologists try to avoid using “addiction” to label driven, excessive behaviors such as eating, work, sex, and accumulating wealth. An illustration shows an obese person eating from a pile of burgers. A text bubble next to him reads, I’m addicted to cheeseburgers! A text box reads, Yet some behaviors can become compulsive and dysfunctional-similar to problematic alcohol and drug use (Gentile, 2019; Griffiths, 2001; Hoeft et al., 2008). Behavior addictions include gambling disorder. Internet gaming disorder is also now a diagnosable condition (WHO, 2018b). Such users display a consistent inability to resist logging on and staying on, even when this excessive use impairs their work and relationships. One international study of 19,000 gamers found that 1 in 3 had at least one symptom of the disorder. But fewer than 1 percent met criteria for a diagnosis (Przybylski et al., 2017). A schematic shows two pills accompanied by text that reads, Psychological and drug therapies may be “highly effective” for problematic internet use (Winkler et al., 2013).