Backgrounds and aims Problem gambling occurs at higher levels in the homeless than the general population. Past work has not established the extent to which problem gambling is a cause or consequence of homelessness. This study sought to replicate recent observations of elevated rates of problem gambling in a British homeless sample, and extend that finding by characterizing (a) the temporal se...

When a person has a goal of drinking alcohol or using another addictive substance, the person appears to be automatically distracted by stimuli related to the goal. Because the attentional bias might propel the person to use the substance, an intervention might help modify it. In this article, we discuss techniques that have been developed to help people overcome their attentional bias for alco...

The book provides a practical model for helping clients with the gamut of self-medicating behaviors-substance and alcohol abuse, overeating, gambling, overworking, rage, and others-and describes a recovery program as a system created to change one's lifestyle over time through the development of disciplines that ultimately shape one's life. The volume will also be helpful to therapists in other...

We show the estimable rational addiction model tends to yield spurious evidence in favor of the rational addiction hypothesis when aggregate data are used. Direct application of the canonical model yields results seemingly indicative that non-addictive commodities such as milk, eggs, and oranges are rationally addictive. Monte Carlo simulation demonstrates that such results are likely to obtain...

Experience-dependent changes in synaptic strength, or synaptic plasticity, may underlie many learning processes. In the reward circuit for example, synaptic plasticity may serve as a cellular substrate for goal-directed behaviors. Addictive drugs, through a surge of dopamine released from neurons of the ventral tegmental area, induce widespread synaptic adaptations within this neuronal circuit....

A primary feature of drug addiction is the compulsive use despite negative consequences. A general consensus is emerging on the capacity of addictive substances to co-opt synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity in brain circuits which are involved in reinforcement and reward processing. A current hypothesis is that drug-driven neuroadaptations during learning and memory processes divert t...

Peptides synthesized in endocrine cells in the gastrointestinal tract and neurons are traditionally considered regulators of metabolism, energy intake, and appetite. However, recent work has demonstrated that many of these peptides act on corticostriatal-limbic circuitry and, in turn, regulate addictive behaviors. Given that alcohol is a source of energy and an addictive substance, it is not su...