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Related Experiment Videos

Drug instrumentalization.

Christian P Müller1

  • 1Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schwabachanlage 6, 91054 Erlangen, Germany.

Behavioural Brain Research
|May 23, 2020
PubMed
Summary
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Drug instrumentalization explains why people use psychoactive substances non-addictively to enhance other behaviors. Addiction may arise from changes in these instrumental goals, highlighting the need to understand personal goals for treatment.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Psychology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Psychoactive drugs are widely used non-addictively across cultures.
  • Drug instrumentalization theory proposes systematic drug use to improve non-drug behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the evolutionary, psychological, neurobiological, and neuropharmacological mechanisms of drug instrumentalization.
  • To explore how instrumentalization goals are learned and maintained non-addictively.
  • To propose how addiction develops from established drug instrumentalization.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of evolutionary, psychological, and neurobiological studies on drug instrumentalization.
  • Analysis of neuropharmacological mechanisms underlying goal-directed drug use.
Keywords:
Drug abuseDrug addictionDrug instrumentalizationDrug useInstrumentalization goals

Related Experiment Videos

  • Exploration of environmental and mental state-dependent factors in drug consumption.

    • Main Results:

    • Drug instrumentalization involves environmentally selective and mental state-dependent consumption.
    • A small subset of users transition to addiction due to changes in instrumentalization goals.
    • Addiction is proposed to stem from long-term drug instrumentalization.

    Conclusions:

    • Understanding personal instrumentalization goals is crucial for preventing and treating drug addiction.
    • Individualized medicine approaches in addiction treatment should incorporate an understanding of user goals.
    • Drug instrumentalization provides a framework for non-addictive psychoactive substance use and addiction development.