Substance Abuse

The Anatomy of Addiction (part 2) (part 1)

by Teresa McBean

Years ago one of our kids woke up one morning and none of his clothes fit. Literally, over night, his pants were too short! Never one to turn down an opportunity to shop, we rushed right out and bought some new duds. Unfortunately, it was a busy shopping day. We waited in line a long time. My son, standing right next to me, began to idly pick at the round rack of slacks to his left. I didn’t pay a lot of attention until I noticed a pile of price tags in his hand. Looking closer, I observed my son systematically pulling off tag after tag after tag dangling from each potential purchase.

I happened to be in the midst of teaching a class on parenting, so I refrained from choking, yelling, shaking or other inappropriate parental outbursts. Trying for calm, I managed to eek out, “Son, what are you doing?”

He looked up at me, noticed the tags in his hand, and with a dazed expression replied, “I don’t know.” And he meant it. He didn’t know.

At this point, a mother ponders. What has happened to her child’s brain? An experienced mother also shifts from thinking of this kid as “my son” to “his father’s child”. Puberty does this to brains. It makes perfectly sane and loving mothers want to deny their genetic contribution to the adolescent’s formation. All sorts of things go on in the adolescent brain ~ and a mother’s brain, too! Some researchers compare it to the phenomenal growth experienced by infants. The brain is an amazing creation of God. When it gets a little out of whack, weird things can happen.

Imagine an adolescent brain on drugs. Not a pretty sight. It’s not much better when it’s a mom or dad’s brain. We’re actually going to study how different substances affect the brain, and use that information to arm ourselves in the fight for freedom from anything that holds us captive. But first, let’s recall what we learned in high school about the anatomy of the brain.

The Anatomy of the Brain

Pre-frontal cortex – the very front of the brain. It processes emotions and plays an important role in our ability to use good judgment. The ability to delay gratification, control over urges, drives and cravings ~ all that stuff happens here

Frontal lobes - This is where we think, determining our capacity for complex thought and learning ability. It’s the part of the brain that responds to a forecast in the news of subzero weather. When we read the forecast, we wear a coat. The paper didn’t say, “Wear a coat.” Our frontal lobe makes that leap in logic. Unless you’re in middle school. In middle school it’s not cool to wear a coat.

Parietal lobes – side of the brain, controlling movement and sensation, the muscles in arms and legs.

Occipital lobe – back of the brain, visual cortex. According to Dr. Holley, this is our movie screen, the place images are formed so that we can perceive what our eyes are ‘seeing’. When one of my children gets a high fever, he sees snakes. There’s no convincing him that we live in a snake free home. From what Dr. Holley tells us, my son sees it in his occipital lobe, therefore, it exists.

Cerebellum – on the very back of the brain and it coordinates balance and movement; it’s like a really fast computer that calculates the math for taking balanced, evenly spaced steps.

Mid-brain – these are the highways that connect all the periphery parts of the body with the brain. If the brain is mission control, the mid-brain helps the eyes, ears, etc. communicate and integrate all the incoming data the brain needs to get us to respond appropriately. It is made up of 35 or 40 substations that control different parts of our personality and behavior.

Nucleus Abumbens – is the pleasure center located in the midbrain. It is connected to centers that allow us to experience pleasurable responses. Cravings come from the midbrain.

Fasciculus retroflexus – is the road from the prefrontal cortex to the midbrain. It’s a really small tract with a big job. It allows our judgment center to control cravings, impulses and drives. Damage to this little road results in compulsive behaviors and addiction.

Brain stem – is the power switch, helping you to wake up and sleep, breath and have a heart beat. If this malfunctions we experience going into a coma, and we die if it is a deep enough coma.

This is the architectural lay out of the brain. Next week we’ll learn more about the inner workings. This is one complex machine, and when it’s interfered with, bad things happen. My guess is that you don’t fill up your brand new car with fuel that isn’t recommended. I bet you don’t decide it’s cheaper to use Canola oil, and substitute that for oil especially designed for a car’s engine. We haven’t been as careful with our brain as most of us are with our cars. More on that in a few weeks.

The Anatomy of Addiction (part 1)