Conference Report -
Neuroscience Meets Recovery
First Annual Conference Addiction and mental health professionals are always seeking information on the latest and most effective treatments for their clients. In March at the First Annual Conference Neuroscience Meets Recovery – Bridging the Gap Between Scientific Discovery and Patient Recovery, sponsored by U.S. Journal Training Inc., professionals from across the nation learned the important role biology plays in addiction – specifically, neurobiology.
Prominent educators gathered at the Las Vegas Hilton March 9-11 to share the latest information on developments in neuroscience and the treatment of addiction. Drawing on the principles of neurobiology and neuropsychology, as well as the findings from brain imaging, genetics and human development, distinguished faculty discussed topics ranging from issues including unresolved loss and trauma, addiction and recovery; applying neuroscience and neuropsychology to your practice; treating women with co-occurring disorders; brain mechanisms in trauma recovery; the neurobiology of love and addiction; lessons from neuroimaging and addiction; brain neurobiology and pharmacology of methamphetamine addicts; the science of well-being; the neurobiology of addiction; to the neurobiology behind the treatment of patients with co-occurring nicotine and psychoactive substance dependence.
Attendees were captivated by renowned clinician, author and speaker Dan Siegel, MD, who opened the conference with a discussion of Interpersonal Neurobiology: Mind, Brain and Relationships in the Development of Well-Being. Siegel, who is an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine, and director of the Center for Human Development in Los Angeles, uses an integrated developmental approach to understanding the connection between human relationships and neurobiology (the actual functioning of the brain), and even authored a book on the subject, The Developing Mind: Toward a Neurobiology of Interpersonal Experience .
Siegel describes the mind as a process that regulates the flow of energy and information. He further explains that the mind undergoes massive changes with addiction; when someone is exposed to substances it massively impedes the ability of the mind to regulate. Specifically, the prefrontal cortex shuts down during addiction and massively alters the prefrontal areas of the brain. People with addictions have a tendency to suffer adverse affects related to: regulating the body; attuned communication; balancing emotions; response flexibility; empathy; self-knowing awareness; freedom from fear; being in touch with intuition; and morality.
The good news is that there is always room for growth as long as the brain is functioning, according to Siegel. Neural plasticity is how the neurons in the brain change in response to experiences. It is also important to understand the pattern of neurotransmitter firing in the brain and how this changes the structure of the mind. Addiction therapists will work with their clients long term to help them change the way they are thinking. Siegel recommends that this is usually best accomplished without medications, rather through the use of 12-step programs and alternative therapies, such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and meditation.
In accordance with his developmental approach to treatment, Siegel finds that genes in developing fetuses play a role in determining how these neural connections are firing. However, things such as genetic predisposition and childhood trauma also can shape the fundamental state of the brain. He points out that genes and experiences should not be considered separate with regard to how the mind is shaped, emphasizing, “There is no such thing as nature versus nurture; rather, nature needs nurture.”
Memory is defined as the way an experience or event at one time alters the way you function in the future. Implicit memory, is made up of associations across four domains – emotion, perception, motor action and bodily memory – and begins in infancy, shaping present day. Siegel further explains that there is no conscious sense of recall when implicit memory is retrieved. Someone can react to something negative in his or her past and not realize it is related to a past trauma.
On the other hand, explicit memory is episodic or associated with recall, and usually starts developing around age two. Implicit memories usually are integrated into explicit form. This can occur when the hippocampus, a part of the limbic system located in the temporal lobe, is blocked.
According to Siegel, the hippocampus, which plays a role in memory, can be blocked chemically (through substance use) or by diverting attention (e.g., a rape victim may focus on an inanimate object during the rape, thus blocking out the physical act). By blocking the hippocampus, someone can effectively erase or alter their explicit memory. However, this can result in flashbacks or reliving the trauma, such as in post-traumatic stress disorder, when that inanimate object sets off the implicit memory of a traumatic event.
This is particularly relevant for addiction therapists and clinicians. Many persons who have unresolved issues (traumatic events) suffer from addiction. By using the substance they are chemically altering their explicit memory, says Siegel.
Fortunately, you can change the way your mind works, says Siegel. Counselors and others can use their relationships with the addicted person to change the activity of the mind/brain. Basically, therapists can engage a number of techniques to help the client work toward a goal of achieving integration of consciousness, or “mindsight.”
According to Siegel, the human brain is not only capable of, but is actually “hard-wired” to connect with other brains. Thus, neurobiology functions in collaboration with human relationships (attachments), such as in psychotherapy, to “regrow” fibers on the prefrontal area that has been damaged through addiction and/or past trauma.
“The mind shapes the brain,” Siegel states. “It's never too late to make sense of your life.”
According to Siegel, the prefrontal cortex integrates everything together, and when everything works well together, you have well-being. Mindfulness meditation can help achieve well-being. A person who is living a life of well-being is receptive and engaged, and has connectedness, openness, harmony, compassion and empathy, Siegel says.
There will be a second Conference on Neuroscience Meets Recovery – Bridging the Gap Between Scientific Discovery and Patient Recovery, in March 2007 at the Las Vegas Hilton. We will let you know as soon as an exact date has been finalized. We hope to see you there!
Stephanie L. Muller is the editor of Counselor, The Magazine for Addiction Professionals. She can be reached at editor@counselormagazine.com.
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