Biological Model of Addiction (4+6)

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The biological model of Addiction views addiction as a disease, therefore assuming that addiction is an illness, it is irreversible and the problem lies in the individual with no other contributing factors. With addiction the most poignant neurotransmitters is dopamine, where neurotransmitters carry chemical messages (information) around the brain. Dopamine is particularly active in the reward center; therefore Dopamine is related to motivation, rewards and moods. The main pathway that is travels is the mesolimbic dopamine system. According to this model people get addicted because when they take a particular substance and enjoy it is a rewarding feeling and dopamine gets released. There are different phases in becoming addicted to something, the first of which is the initiation phase. This is the taking of addicting substances; such as alcohol or nicotine trigger the release of more dopamine, motivating the brain to do it again. For example in theory crack cocaine causes receptors in the mesolimbic pathway to be rapidly activated, the brain then remembers to link the drug with the rewarding experience. This is also known as operant conditioning where the rewarding experience is positive reinforcement. The next phase is maintenance; “down regulation” involves withdrawal and stress. This is the brain adapting to new drugs and more are needed for a reward, so the previous positive reinforcement becomes negative reinforcement. “Neuroadptation” is where the brain adapts to the new drugs when they are no longer there so the brain does not need new adaptations. The brain then becomes imbalanced therefore leading to negative reinforcement to take place again.
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A weakness with this model is that it is deterministic, as it says that the person is not in control and that it is irreversible. This is a problem as it can lead to low self-efficacy as they accept that they cannot do anything about their condition, leading to a self fulfilling prophecy because they are told nothing can be done to correct their situation, therefore they don’t try to solve it and instead just accept that nothing can be done.

Another weakness is that the biological model assumes that everyone has the same reaction to drugs, when that is not the case. According to the model is two people were to take the exact same amount of cocaine they would have the exact level of dopamine production, therefore would feel the exact same. This is a weakness because it causes the model to be reductionist. It does not account for other factors such as personality or social circle. There is no such explanation that is purely biological.

Lastly it does not account for social factors, where someone may get addicted because of their social circle or the environment that they live in. This is a weakness because the model states that dopamine levels solely cause addiction, when in fact other factors such as your social circle may be a contributing cause. The person may take the drug due to peer pressure and always do said drug when in that environment in order to be accepted into that social circle, meaning that the cause of addiction isn’t dopamine levels but in fact the want to be accepted.