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Abstract
According to the National Institute of Health, substance use disorder in the United States in 2021 caused nearly 106,000 deaths and an annual healthcare and criminal justice expenditure of roughly $200 billion, however, only 10% of diagnoses receive proper treatment. This is primarily due to the lack of previous research in addictive studies as well as the lack of accessibility to resources and proper treatments. Current treatments for alcohol use disorder range from medications and behavioral therapies, such as acamprosate, naltrexone, and cognitive behavior therapy. Much of these treatments consist of reconditioning the brain to associate alcohol with a negative outcome, demotivating the patient to consume alcohol. Recent studies propose ketamine as an effective treatment method due to its anesthetic properties and its potential to interfere with the association between alcohol consumption and its transient effects. In this study, the researcher investigated the extent to which current treatments are able to modify neural pathways to alleviate alcoholic associations as well as the benefits of providing treatment specifically during the memory reconsolidation period rather than providing treatment alone. It was concluded that ketamine would offer a longer onset of effects when administered immediately after alcoholic desire was stimulated in patients, signifying that it is a more effective treatment than other current treatments.
Publication Date
2023
Subject Major(s)
Psychology; Addictive Psychology
Keywords
Ketamine; AUD; memory reconsolidation; addiction; substance abuse; memory retrieval; MDD; dopamine
Disciplines
Clinical Psychology
Current Academic Year
Freshman
Faculty Advisor/Mentor
Mary Boyes
Rights
© The Author(s)