Unit Discussion
Role of the Brain in Addiction
Read the Discussion Participation Scoring Guide to learn how the instructor will evaluate your discussion participation throughout this course.
Select two models of addiction from the chart appearing on pages 24-25 in the Lewis text.
Compare how each model addresses the brain changes (neurological effects) associated with using a substance (or gambling) to excess.
(Note that the media pieces and optional articles may be helpful to aid your understanding of the role of the brain in addiction.)
Consider the relative emphasis that each model places upon the role of physiological brain functions or changes to explain addiction.
Make an educated prediction regarding how well the model can adapt to emerging developments in the neuroscience of addiction.
Response Guidelines
Respond to the main discussion posts of two learners. What reactions do you have to the ideas they have presented? Include examples from the course readings or your own experience to support your perspective, and raise questions to continue the dialogue.
Resources
Discussion Participation Scoring Guide.
Unit Discussion 2
Models of Addiction and Current Treatment
Read the Discussion Participation Scoring Guide to learn how the instructor will evaluate your discussion participation throughout this course.
Locate an article in the Capella library written within the last five years that describes a specific treatment for an addictive disorder. Identify which model of addiction would be most consistent with that treatment approach.
If no single model appears to help explain the assumptions about addiction underlying that treatment, select the aspects of the two models that come closest. How does that model support current treatment approaches?
Response Guidelines
Respond to the main discussion posts of two learners. What reactions do you have to the ideas they have presented? Include examples from the course readings or your own experience to support your perspective, and raise questions to continue the dialogue.