CARA Model of Brain Repair
CARA Model of Brain Repair at the Sacramento Drug Court
by Carolyn Reuben, L.Ac.
January, 2007
Townsend Letter
(a medical journal for doctors using nutrition clinically)
Mel Gibson, Nick Nolte, William C. Moyers, Keith Urban, Kate Moss, Willie Nelson, Eric Musselman (the Kings head coach, for you non-basketball fans) and numerous other famous people have been outed as alcohol or illegal drug users during the past year, some for repeat offenses. As millions of Americans who were in their 20's in the 1960s can attest, to use drugs isn't necessarily to abuse them. Yet there seems to be a subset of the population, even among those with plenty of money to buy the best treatment available, who cannot move beyond their drug. I join a growing number of researchers and practitioners who have a logical explanation why and a reasonable solution to this problem.
We believe that there is a disconnect between what science knows an addict needs and what society provides as treatment. Yes, addicts need behavior modification training. They also need mental health counseling. And a drug-free place to live, and a job with a living wage. Yet, even before all that, they need brain repair at the molecular level.
Let me explain how we do that repair work in Sacramento using acupuncture, nutrition, nutritional supplements, yoga, tai qi, qi gong, and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). Because you are interested most in what you can quickly apply to your own medical practice or personal life, I will emphasize the acupuncture and nutrition components.
"If it weren't for Drug Court, I would have been sent to prison for 14 years at the expense of the California taxpayers. But because of the Drug Court program, I had the opportunity to learn to make better choices...I pay taxes now and I am a productive member of society." (methamphetamine user who graduated in 2000)
IT STARTED WITH ACUPUNCTURE
During the mid-1980's the jails in Miami and other Florida cities were crowded with cocaine users. One judge on the 11th Circuit Court was given a year off the bench to find a solution. Judge Herbert Klein was impressed with the group acupuncture program at Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx run by psychiatrist Michael Smith, MD. Soon Smith was helping Klein and others, including former US Attorney General Janet Reno, design the country's first Drug Court which opened in Dade County, Florida in 1989. In addition to acupuncture it included 12 Step meetings and counseling sessions as the carrot and time in jail as the stick to help nudge people into recovery.
Across the country in San Francisco, acupuncturist Pat Keenan remembered seeing Chinese doctors using surgical tape to stick plump black plant seeds called semen viccariae on the ears of children in a clinic in Nanjing when she had studied there. The ear seeds were pressed as a form of acupressure to treat various ailments.
Pat was now working in a public health clinic in a poor neighborhood and decided to apply the seeds to drug exposed babies. "The...semen viccariae were chosen because they are the right consistency and shape so they don't irritate the baby's skin," wrote Pat in the clinic newsletter back in 1991. She chose three ear points commonly used in acupuncture: kidney, brain stem, and "shenmen" a point used to increase endorphins. Babies, even rigid PCP-exposed infants, quickly responded, relaxing into quiet softness in her arms.
I wanted to apply this cleverly simple and inexpensive protocol in Sacramento so I called our local county hospital and was introduced to a counselor whose boss hired me to give ear acupuncture to women in recovery. I never did use the seeds on children.
Wanting to spread the work, a small group of acupuncturists and others created a nonprofit organization that came to be known as Community Addiction Recovery Association, pronouncing the acronym CARA as care-ah to emphasize the care we could provide.
Our timing couldn't have been better. Overcrowding in our local jails had resulted in a hefty fine and forced the Criminal Justice Cabinet, a collaboration of all major criminal justice players in the county, to seek help.
Enter Michael Smith, MD, who answered a request from one of our original Board Members, psychiatric technician Daniel Uselmann, to speak here at a public forum. Smith, in San Francisco for a conference, drove himself the two hours to Sacramento with his usual generosity and zeal. After he spoke the law enforcers agreed to fund acupuncture in the pilot drug court they were planning for our county.
We've been treating clients five days a week, one hour a day since Drug Court began in November of 1995. Many choose needles during the week and seeds (or magnets, which are tinier and more attractive on the ear than seeds) for the weekend, when acupuncture isn't available. Needles cost a few cents each. Treating a dozen or more people simultaneously makes it cost effective, especially since people who are resistant to counseling can still be helped.
"Before acupuncture, even though I was clean I never once stopped craving drugs. Since acupuncture, I've stopped the craving." Female cocaine addict
In some locations (Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia), non-acupuncturists such as social workers, nurses, corrections officers, and case workers can learn to insert needles and after a 70 hour training (see NADA in Resources) can work as an Acupuncture Detoxification Specialist. Since they are already on staff, the cost of acupuncture is radically reduced. Each of the states has its own regulations regarding who among those non-acupuncturist are legally allowed to insert needles.
Whether with needle, seed, or magnet, auriculotherapy stimulates a cranial nerve branch in the ear. When needling, we use the points named Shenmen (to increase endorphins), Sympathetic (which relaxes the sympathetic nervous system), Kidney, Liver, and Lung (the three major detox organs).
How do we know it works? In a retrospective cohort study published in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment in 1999, Michael Shwartz of Boston University looked at detoxification readmission rates of clients treated in outpatient and short-term residential treatment for substance abuse detoxification, some with acupuncture, some not. No matter how he looked at the data, acupuncture clients were less likely to be readmitted for detoxification within six months.
A former Drug Court judge, the Honorable Jane Ure, looked at amazement at the gentleman before her. He'd gone to jail at least five times, five days, ten days, fifteen days, and twice twenty one days. Then he stayed clean the rest of the year. He'd transformed himself from a homeless dumpster diver/methamphetamine addict to a clean and working program graduate. "How'd you do it?" she asked. "I hit bottom...and acupuncture," he replied.
FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD
During the fall of 1995 I read an article about Joan Larson, PhD's nutrition-based drug treatment program in Minneapolis (described in her Seven Weeks to Sobriety) and also heard a lecture by an ex-con polydrug abuser who raved about Kathleen DesMaisons, PhD's nutrition-based program (described in her Potatoes Not Prozac). A nutrient-based treatment program made so much sense!
While some emphasize changing one's diet and others are sure individualized nutrients are essential, the goal for all addiction nutrition practitioners is permanent brain repair. Larson at Health Recovery Center in Minneapolis Minnesota, DesMaisons at Radiant Recovery in Albuquerque New Mexico, Julia Ross, MA, MFT at Recovery Systems in Mill Valley California, Clark Inkanish at TK Wolf in Tulsa Oklahoma, James Braly, MD at Bridging the Gaps in Winchester Virginia, Joseph Beasley, MD at Comprehensive Medical Care in Amityville New York and Charles Gant, MD in Syracuse New York, among others, have discovered that by giving the bodies the raw materials they need clients make it through the tough early days of withdrawal and beyond feeling healthier and happier than they have for years.
After a couple years of listening to my nagging, the Drug Court supervisor found extra money at the end of the fiscal year and allowed CARA to begin a nutrition program. I hired Jan Trifiro, a certified nutritionist and former junior high school teacher (big help with the Drug Court clientele!) to create a six week curriculum of basic nutrition concepts based on the work of DesMaisons.
The day begins with a frozen fruit-whey powder blended drink to get the methamphetamine users used to eating regularly again and to provide everyone with an easily digestible source of protein.
Clients fill out a food-mood journal in acupuncture class each morning in which they list what they ate and drank the day before and how they felt. Each week Trifiro reviews the journals with each client. Then she lectures the class on the basics of healthy eating, including the difference between simple and complex carbohydrates, why hydration is important, and what makes a healthy fat or oil. The favorite part of the whole program comes next: food! The group cooks together and eats lunch. They may be making ground turkey burgers or whole wheat crust vegetarian pizza. Whatever it is, there are few leftovers.
"I used to see the produce section of the market as in my way on the way to the Pepsi. Now, my kids get oranges, apples, and bananas." (Young female marijuana/cocaine/methamphetamine user at Drug Court)
BRAIN REPAIR IN A BOTTLE
In four to six weeks we must work our magic in our clients' lives since our part of Drug Court involves only Phase One of a four phase program. Luckily for us, subsequent Drug Court supervisors have supported our expanded program financially and politically.
Julia Ross calls the physical consequences of addiction a "brain wreck." The information needed to clear the tracks is "profound but not difficult to grasp and apply." It all begins with vitamins.
Our clients exhibit many signs and symptoms of malnourishment, after years of chasing their next high. Their teeth are rotted, their digestion a misery, their skin sallow and marked, their nerves hypersensitive. We give everyone a multivitamin, a B complex for their nervous system, 100 mg of fish oil to increase their catecholamines and provide essential fatty acids, and 1000 mg of C to help them detox, in the form of Emergen-C packets that are sweet and tasty in a glass of water. We individualize amino acid packets by asking clients questions and having them complete a questionnaire. Our goal is to quickly begin neurotransmitter repair. You will be amazed how quickly clients notice a difference.
Since Austrian Otto Loewi discovered the first neurotransmitter, now called acetylcholine, in 1921, over 300 others have been discovered. Luckily for those of us in the addiction field, we're mostly concerned with four of them.
Let's start with the chatecholamines: dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. The catecholamines are what wake you up, focuse your brain, and put color into your day. Without enough, life is grey, boring, and disorganized. Anyone with diagnosed with ADD/ADHD needs more catecholamines. You only have to notice how many coffee shops are on your city's streets to realize we are a catecholamine-deficient people. You may also notice that methamphetamine abuse is taking on epic proportions with 58 percent of some 500 counties questioned in 2005 claiming it was their largest drug problem and the one drug causing the most incarcerations. (The Meth Epidemic in America, Two Surveys of US Counties, July 5, 2005, Angelo D. Kyle, NACo President and Bill Hansell, NACo President-Elect).
The second important amino acid for addiction treatment is tryptophan, a metabolic precursor for the neurotransmitter serotonin. In the 1980's tryptophan was inexpensive and easily available in every health food store. Psychiatrists used tryptophan to increase levels of serotonin in cases of insomnia and depression.
The amino acid's reputation was sullied in 1989 when a single polluted batch of tryptophan from Showa Denka, one of several Japanese suppliers, caused eosinophilia myalgia syndrome which killed eleven Americans and sickened many more. Showa Denka stopped producing tryptophan. Other suppliers continued to ship safe tryptophan to American hospitals, American baby food manufacturers, and foreign buyers but the supply of tryptophan on health food shelves quickly dried up. Recently tryptophan has appeared again for over the counter purchase.
Meanwhile, another metabolic precursor of serotonin was discovered in an African bean called Griffonia simplicifolia. This precursor, 5-hydroxytryptophan or 5-HTP, is an intermediary between tryptophan and serotonin and can cross the blood-brain barrier to increase levels of serotonin in the central nervous system.
According to a handy amino acid therapy chart designed by Julia Ross and described in her book The Mood Cure, symptoms of serotonin deficiency include anxiety, irritability, premenstrual syndrome, panic attacks, suicidal thoughts, a dislike of hot weather, difficulty getting to sleep and difficulty staying asleep, low self-esteem, obsessive-compulsive thoughts and behaviors, and the kind of depression that perceives all life's woes as one's own fault.
The third important amino acid for addiction treatment is phenylalanine. It is used to maintain levels of endorphins, those powerful pain relievers and mood elevators characterized as the 'runner's high.' The most common symptoms of endorphin deficiency are hyper sensitivity, low threshold for pain, easily hooked into sentimental TV commercials, cries easily, chronic pain, and depression.
Unlike tyrosine and 5HTP, phenylalanine doesn't make more of a neurotransmitter. It destroys the enzyme that causes endorphins to self-destruct and so extends their life. To build more endorphins, a person must consume adequate protein in meals.
As with all amino acids, phenylalanine is a three dimensional molecule and has a natural twist to it. With amino acids, L- indicates a left twist (the Latin is laevus) and D- indicates right (the Latin is dexter). It's the D- form that maintains endorphins, but for manufacturers it's cheaper to mix the two. Some of the L- form converts to L-tyrosine. The D- form is patented and is quite useful for pain relief while avoiding the stimulation of the L form.
The fourth amino acid useful for addiction treatment is GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid) which is also the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the body. Anxiety and muscle tension are signs of deficient GABA as are cravings for tranquilizing drugs, marijuana, and alcohol.
As usual, there are contraindications for amino acid use and we thank Julia Ross for teaching them to us. We don't give amino acids to our bipolar clients. Their needs are beyond our abilities right now. In addition, we don't give amino acids to people on psychiatric medications for any diagnosis without consulting their psychiatrist. We do not give L-Tyrosine or DL Phenylalanine to people with a history of melanoma, high blood pressure, migraines, or Graves' Disease, and sometimes the autoimmune disease called Hashimoto's thyroiditis. And we do not give GABA to people with extremely low blood pressure.
RESEARCH
Is there research to back up the nutrition approach to drug treatment? Yes, and although there isn't room here to describe the researchers and their work, you can find some by searching entrez pubmed as well as your usual search engines for the work of Kenneth Blum, PhD, Ernest Noble, MD, PhD, Michael Trachtenberg, PhD, Richard Wurtman, MD, and Eric Braverman, MD, to name a few.
Several program providers have also reported on their protocols, most notably Joan Mathews Larson, PhD's 74% success rate evaluating 100 clients 1-3 1/2 years following graduation, published in the International Journal of Biosocial and Medical Research 9, No. 1 (1987): pp 92- 100; or Julia Ross, MA's 79% success rate following 100 clients for one year. unpublished but reported at the First National Conference on Reward Deficiency Syndrome, San Francisco, November 12-13, 2000; or Charles Gant, MD, PhD's 80% success rate of patients who maintained his nutritional protocols remaining drug and alcohol-free two years after graduating from formal treatment, as reported in his book End Your Addiction Now, Warner, 2002, p. 8.
Cathie Scott of Sedona was a 28 year veteran of drugs and alcohol at age 45. She signed herself into Larson's treatment center and recalls "In three days I felt better than I I'd felt in ten years."
BODY-MIND MOVES
At the Sacramento County Drug Court, we have created a program integrating all the elements we think are important in addition to acupuncture and nutrition:
Probation officers on site and biweekly visits to court before a fatherly judge provide ongoing accountability and consequences which clients admit is needed and appreciated.
Counseling and case management provide a safe place to learn to stop hiding from uncomfortable feelings behind drugs and instead to recognize these feelings are a necessary part of being human.
Acupuncture provides a peaceful place where brain chemistry begins to heal, pain begins to disappear, a natural sense of inner calm is easier to generate, and clients notice cravings melting away.
Yoga. tai chi, and qi gong for an hour each week reconnect the client with his body, a foreign feeling for most addicts who have spent years, often decades, ignoring their physicality in search of a high.
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a simplified version of a system begun several decades ago in Southern California by a clinical psychologist named Roger Callahan, PhD. Callahan discovered that tapping on acupuncture points in certain orders, while giving verbal instructions to the body, resulted in astounding relief of phobias, allergies, pain, and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). One of Callahan's students, a retired engineer named Gary Craig, shortened the tapping sequence, revised the wording, and called it Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). Instead of charging several thousand dollars for the training, Craig gives away the manual for EFT on his website at www.emofree.com and encourages everyone to put it to use. Since the majority of women addicts suffer PTSD and so do many of the men, it may be the modality clients use most frequently outside of class. I've used it myself to stop sugar cravings and writer's block, eliminate body pain (including helping others stop their pain), dissolve allergic reactions, and banish the upset of old memories. It is hard to believe something so powerful can be so simple. I recommend you read archive emailed newsletters at www.eftuniverse.com to familiarize yourself with the places to tap and the way to create sentences that act like magic wands for healing. You can also access a how-to from Dr. Joseph Mercola's website http://www.mercola.com/forms/eftcourse2.htm
THE CARA MODEL OF BRAIN REPAIR
The CARA model of brain repair is still a work in progress, and probably always will be as we learn new forms of treatment and fine-tune those we use and love. Not every client is ready to bloom even with all our care. That's the nature of the disease, because we humans are more than just our biochemistry, we are also our history and our dreams. However, even those who struggle appreciate how different our program is from any other program they've attended.
"I have been using drugs for 37 years, since the age of 12, and for the first time in my life I can see the light at the end of the tunnel." Male methamphetamine user, client at Drug Court
RESOURCES
Acupuncture Supplies
Helio Medical Supplies, San Jose, CA, 800-672-2726 Everything for the acupuncturist -seeds, magnets, needles, office supplies, and more.
Amino Acids, Fish Oil, Vitamins
Some companies I've used:
Craig Nutraceuticals, Cameron Park, CA, 530-676-8838
Pacific BioLogic, Clayton, CA, 925-673-2967
Metabolic Maintenance, Sisters, OR, 800-772-7873
NOW Foods, Bloomingdale, IL, 888-669-3663
Threshold Enterprises (a one stop shop for dozens of companies) 800-777-5677
Organizations
-Alliance for Addiction Solutions; PO Box 13375, Ft. Pierce, FL 34979, 424-256-8227 allianceforaddictionsolutions@gmail.com; www.transformingaddiction.com; International networking nonprofit organization of psychiatrists, nutritionists, acupuncturists, and counselors who own or work in treatment facilities for addictive and mental health disorders and who use nutrition, acupuncture, and other pharmaceutical-free methods to correct brain chemistry. (added to article 9-2-17)
- SOS (Secular Organizations for Sobriety, or Save Our Selves); 4773 Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood, California 90027; 323-666-4295, Fax 323-666-4271 sos@cfiwest.org; www.secularsobriety.org
A secular alternative to traditional "I admit I am powerless and turn to God" type 12 Step programs
- National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA);
Sara Bursac, Executive Director
PO Box 1066
Laramie, WY 82073
888-765-6232
nadaoffice@acudetox.com
www.acudetox.com
Offers an international 70 hour standardized training for health care workers, addiction specialists, acupuncturists, and counselors to perform auriculotherapy (treatment of the ears) and understand the unique dynamics of work in the addiction community.
- Safe Harbor
787 W. Woodbury Rd. #2
Altadena, CA 91001
626-791-7868
www.alternativementalhealth.com
mail@alternativementalhealth.com
Billing itself as "the world's largest site on non-drug approaches for mental health" Safe Harbor is a nonprofit corporation offering referrals, testimonials, local lectures, national conferences, and hope in a crazy world that has separated streams of funding for mental health and addiction programs and research.
Books on Addiction Nutrition
Here are written directions for everyone's needs, from Sahley's fast-read pamphlets to Blum's scientific finesse to the Millers' thorough overview to Ross's, Gant's and Larson's carefully crafted how-tos and from DesMaisons's focus on food to Cass's expansive vision. Keep reading the scientific parts and the differences between the amino acids until their names are as familiar as Uncle Joe and Auntie Kate and with embarrassing ease you will change lives.
- Staying Clean & Sober: Complementary and Natural Strategies for Healing the Addicted Brain
Merlene Miller and David Miller, PhD
2005 Woodland
Aminos and food, acupuncture and ear pressure, chiropractic and brainwave biofeedback, exercise and aromatics and more; The Millers reveal what's going on in the world of drug-free drug treatment and leave the reader with a smile of relief that recovery can include what's comfortable, do-able, and fun.
- Overload: Attention Deficit Disorder and the Addictive Brain
David K. Miller and Kenneth Blum, PhD
1996, Andrews and McMeel
Blum, the research scientist and Miller, the clinician are fantastic success stories in themselves, and write for the lay public about the neurochemical connection of brain and behavior.
- The Mood Cure: The 4-Step Program to Take Charge of Your Emotions-Today Julia Ross, MA, 2002 Penguin,.
Explains the connections of mood to adrenal and thyroid gland hormone imbalances, how to eliminate food cravings, and quickly figure out the nutrients and dietary changes that will bring back clearheaded focus and a joyful attitude while eliminating a need for drugs. We have given this book to clients upon graduation from Drug Court.
- Depression-Free, Naturally
Joan Mathews Larson, PhD 2001 Random House.
Originally titled Seven Weeks to Emotional Health as a hard cover, Larson's publisher chose one popular problem to highlight in the title of the paperback but it's truly encyclopedic in covering all manner of emotional disturbances, including addiction, aggression, and ADD. An excellent guidebook for self-care or for designing a professional treatment program by the Mother of Addiction Nutrition.
.
- Seven Weeks to Sobriety
Joan Mathews Larson, PhD, 1997, Fawcett Columbine
Personal grief was transformed into public welfare after her teenage son's suicide in recovery led her to research the hypoglycemia-alcoholism connection. Her effort to connect the research dots has led to this extraordinary Bible of self-care and a successful treatment program in Minneapolis.
- Potatoes Not Prozac
Kathleen DesMaisons, PhD. 1998 Fireside.
Chapter Five Brain Chemistry 101 is a treasure in explaining simply and usefully the neurotransmitter connection to addiction.
- Natural Highs
Hyla Cass, MD; 2002; Penguin Putnam
A Los Angeles holistic psychiatrist, author, and frequent presenter at conferences on spirituality, holistic health, and addiction, Cass and her coauthor Patrick Holford cover the terrain of feeling good from every imaginable viewpoint. We have given this book to clients upon graduation from Drug Court.
- How to Defeat Alcoholism: Nutritional Guidelines for Getting Sober
Joseph D. Beasley, MD,1989, Times Books
Beasley has written so many books on the subject of successful treatment for alcoholism it's amazing he isn't fed up with America's stubborn resistance to what works.
- End Your Addiction Now: The Proven Nutritional Supplement Program That Can Set You Free
Charles Gant, MD, PhD and Greg Lewis, PhD; 2002 Warner
One of the few excellent nutrition-oriented self-care guides with full chapters on stopping smoking.
- Alcoholism: The Cause & Cure
Genita Petralli; 1999-2005
Petralli runs an alcoholism treatment program in Los Angeles based on nutrition and naturopathic principles with unbridled enthusiasm and energy. This book has everything from bowel cleansing to meal planning from "The laws of health are not negotiable" to "It's a beautiful journey, relax and enjoy it,"
- Breaking Your Rx Addiction Habit
Billie J. Sahley, PhD, Katherine M. Birkner, CRNA, PhD, 1996, Pain & Stress Publications
Sahley, a pain management specialist, and her coauthor produce a variety of pamphlets on addiction treatment via nutrition that need proofreading but are useful for their brevity. She also creates formulas for brain repair such as Brain Link She runs the Pain and Stress Clinic in San Antonio, Texas where her staff uses email and phone for consultation.
- Cleansing the Body, Mind and Spirit
Carolyn Reuben, 1998, Berkley
It's my book on the myriad ways one can detoxify the body but since it's out of print I buy it like everybody else, used, from the internet. Check out Chapter 14 starting p.275 on Addiction and Substance Abuse Detox.
- The Healing Nutrients Within
Eric R. Braverman, MD, with Carl C. Pfeiffer, MD, PhD, Ken Blum, PhD, & Richard Smayda, DO, 1997, Keats Publishing
An important overview of amino acids for the nonscientist.
Lead author Eric Braverman, MD has experience applying amino acids to addiction. He runs a comprehensive medical treatment center in New York.
- Under the Influence: A Guide to the Myths and Realities of Alcoholism
Dr. James R. Milam and Katherine Ketcham, 1983, Bantam
One of the classics that opened many professionals' eyes to the nutrition link to addiction.
Books on Acupuncture for Detox and Recovery
- Transformation & Recovery: A Guide for the Design and Development of Acupuncture-Based Chemical Dependency Treatment Programs
Alex G Brumbaugh, 1994, Stillpoint Press
Still the Bible of acudetox, covering everything from the practicalities of opening an acupuncture treatment program to the spiritual dimensions of addiction work.
- Fighting Drug Abuse with Acupuncture: The Treatment That Works
Ellinor R. Mitchell, 1995, Pacific View Press
Mitchell took the time to interview the key players in acudetox and tell their story.
Some Studies and Other Articles on NonPharmaceutical Brain Repair
Articles describing the genetic basis for linking addiction to other compulsive, addictive, impulsive behaviors are found in many of the following works:
- Nutritional Therapy In Medical Practice: A Reference Manual and Study Guide, 2001 Edition by Alan R. Gaby, MD, Section 25, Alcoholism and Drug Addiction; pp. 253-255 Lists 43 scientific studies of various nutritional substances used for addiction treatment
- Reward Deficiency Syndrome
Kenneth Blum, et al, American Scientist, March-April 1996, vol. 84, #2, p.132
- Reward Deficiency Syndrome: A Biogenetic Model for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Impulsive, Addictive and Compulsive Behaviors
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs; Vol. 32, Supplement; November 2000; Editors Kenneth Blum, PhD, Eric R. Braverman, MD
The Journal, a quarterly, has been published since 1967. Subscriptions are $90/year.
Haight-Ashbury Publications, 856 Stanyon St. San Francisco, CA 94117,
415-752-7601. www/drdave.org/journal.
- The D2 Dopamine Receptor Gene: A Review of Association Studies in Alcoholism and Phenotypes; Ernest P. Noble, Alcohol, vol. 16, #1, p33
- High Levels of Dopamine D2 Receptors in Unaffected Members of Alcoholic Families; N.D. Volkow, et al. (2006).; Arch Gen Psychiatry, 63(9):999-1008
- Treat the Addict, Cut the Crime Rate by Dr. Nora D. Volkow, Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse; Op-Ed article, Washington Post, August 19, 2006
"As a clinician," Dr. Volkow, a physician, writes, "I don't remember ever meeting an addicted person who wanted to be addicted or who expected that compulsive, uncontrollable or even criminal behavior would emerge when he or she started taking drugs."
- The effects of dietary neurotransmitter precursors on human behavior.
Lieberman HR, Corkin S, Spring BJ, Wurtman RJ, Growdon JH.
Am J Clin Nutr. 1985 Aug;42(2):366-70.
