Introduction
Addiction medicine has been redefined by advances in clinical neuroscience, providing a more precise approach to understanding and treating substance use disorders (SUDs). Recent evidence suggests that adverse childhood experiences and psychosocial trauma are predisposing factors for neurobiological alterations and psychiatric vulnerabilities associated with addiction. In this context, the concept of “neuroprimary determinism” suggests that a set of common neuropsychological dysfunctions (CNDs) emerge from the interaction between dysfunctional family environment, epigenetic factors, and alterations in reward and self-control circuits.
M is all
A descriptive and ethnographic observational study was conducted, associated with an extensive review of the literature on behavioral neurobiology in humans and animal models. Data were extracted from indexed databases (PubMed and Web of Science) and analyzed by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), allowing the identification of specific neural patterns correlated with behavioral changes and addictive disorders.
Results and discussion
The findings point to the existence of an “emotional survival microstructuralism”, characterized by functional alterations in neural networks related to emotional regulation and processing of traumatic memories. CNDs include dysfunctions of family synchrony, inadequate limbic-amygdalar adjustment, immunohormonal alterations, dysfunctions of the reward system and dopaminergic homeostasis. Adaptive neurodissociation of consciousness was also observed, contributing to compulsive behavior patterns and refractoriness to treatment.
Engram theory suggests that adverse experiences are encoded in persistent neural circuits, modulating the stress response and increasing the likelihood of developing dysfunctional coping strategies. Memory processing and emotional regulation are impaired by abnormal connectivity between the hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and limbic system. Furthermore, evidence suggests that alterations in the neurodynamics of family interactions may predispose individuals to adopt maladaptive coping patterns, reinforcing compulsive behaviors.
Conclusion
The reorganization of clinical neurobiology from a precision medicine perspective allows us to advance the understanding of addictive disorders, proposing new diagnostic models and more effective therapeutic approaches. The exploration of neuroprimary determinism and the interactions between environmental, genetic and neurobiological factors can contribute to evidence-based intervention strategies, reducing the incidence of relapses and improving clinical outcomes in addiction medicine.
Reference :
Kampman & Jarvis (2015), Murthy et al. (2023), Gastaldi et al. (2021), Ptak & Schnider (2011), Cui et al. (2022).
