Ethical implications of research on craving

Cravings, intense desires to experience the effects of a drug, are widely regarded as significant impediments to overcoming addiction, although their role in relapse may be overstated. Scientists and clinicians wish to better understand the neurobiological and cognitive basis of craving so that they may develop psychotherapeutic, pharmacological and other medical methods to reduce craving and thereby drug use. The conduct of such research raises significant ethical issues. When recruiting individuals and conducting this research, scientists need to ensure that substance dependent participants have the capacity to provide free and uncoerced consent. This is especially the case in studies in which dependent participants are given their drug of addiction or provided with other inducements to participate (e.g. financial incentives) that may undermine their ability to fully consider the risks of participation.Treatments for addiction that seek to reduce cravings may also carry risks. This includes psychotherapeutic approaches, as well as pharmacological and medical treatments. Clinicians need to consider the risks and benefits of treatment and carefully communicate these to patients. The desire to reduce urges to use drugs should not be employed to justify potentially harmful and ineffective treatments. The safety and effectiveness of emerging treatments should be assessed by well conducted randomized controlled clinical trials

Is deep brain stimulation a prospective "cure" for addiction?

Deep brain stimulation has been put forward as a potential “cure” for intractable drug addiction. This is largely based on preclinical studies in animal models of addiction and small case series of positive, but short-term, effects on addictive behaviour in highly selected individuals. The history of neurosurgical treatment for psychiatric disorders suggests that we should be cautious in prematurely advocating invasive neurosurgical procedures on the basis of such limited evidence. Further research is required in animal models of addiction and in people treated for other neurological or psychiatric disorders before trials in addicted populations can be justified

The Age of Onset of Substance Use Disorders

Illicit drug use frequently starts during adolescence and young adulthood. Early initiation of illicit drug use in this period is associated with continued drug use in adulthood, the development of dependence, polydrug use and a number of adverse social, educational and mental health outcomes. Understanding when and why illicit drug use starts has important implications for preventing a major source of personal and financial cost to individuals, families and communities. In this chapter, we review research on the prevalence of drug use in the early years, the impact of early illicit drug use on psychosocial outcomes in young adulthood and widely researched models that explain the early initiation of drug use. We explore the implications of evidence-based models for prevention of the early initiation of illicit drug use

Perceptions towards Special Education of Japanese Parents of Children with Special Needs in the United States

The purpose of this study was to examine Japanese parents of children with disabilities’ perceptions towards special education in the United States. This study included 40 participants who were born and raised in Japan and they are now living in the United States. The results revealed that most Japanese parents still maintained some negative perceptions towards special education from its history of labeling individuals with disabilities as “abnormal” in Japanese culture. Moreover, a majority of participants agreed that America’s special education was more focused on each individual’s needs and promoted independence whereas Japanese ideas of special education was mainly focused on how to segregate individuals with disabilities from other people or society. Regardless of the language and cultural differences, most participants preferred American service providers who were familiar with special education systems in the U.S. Nevertheless, a significant number of participants claimed that the language barrier and difference in cultures and customs were one of the major disadvantages of receiving services from American professionals

Camera Imaging System

Magnetic shape memory alloys are functional materials which can remember their shape Currently, twin boundaries as a function of magnetic field angle can not be measured Information about shape changes of different parts of the sample will increase the understanding of deformation mechanism