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The Medical Basis of Psychiatry pp 251–266Cite as

Drug Addiction

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Abstract

Drug addiction causes an enormous burden to patients, families, and societies. This chapter summarizes current concepts of drug addiction, epidemiology, etiology, pathogenesis, pathology, clinical course, laboratory findings, assessment, and treatment of drug addiction. Pathologic consequences from drugs of abuse (e.g., opioids, sedatives, amphetamines, cocaine, cannabis, nicotine, phencyclidine [PCP], hallucinogens) are explained as well. The understanding of drug addiction has improved with recent progress in genetics, neuroscience, pharmacology, and psychiatry. It is now possible to treat drug addiction more effectively using advanced psychological and pharmacological interventions.

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Authors
  1. Joseph Westermeyer MD, PhD
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  2. Gihyun Yoon MD
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School Medicine, 420 Delaware Street, SE Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA

    S. Hossein Fatemi PhD

  2. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 120 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005, USA

    Paula J. Clayton MD (Medical Director) (Medical Director)

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© 2008 Humana Press, a part of Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Westermeyer, J., Yoon, G. (2008). Drug Addiction. In: Fatemi, S.H., Clayton, P.J. (eds) The Medical Basis of Psychiatry. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-252-6_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-252-6_15

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-917-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59745-252-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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