The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)

STASH Vol. 3(2) - Cocaine Use during Pregnancy: What are the Long-Term Effects on the Child?

Cocaine use during pregnancy results in exposure to a toxic substance during a key time in the neurolbiogical development of the fetus. The full effects of this exposure on, for example, the subsequent cognitive ability are unknown until the child is capable of more complex intellectual skills (Thadani, 1995; Vorhees, 1986) Therefore, a longitudinal study is necessary to isolate these effects. However, isolating the effects of cocaine exposure is difficult because the same exposure carries with it correlated problems within the child’s care-giving environment that also might interact with cognitive functioning (Richardson, 1996; Singer, 2001). This week’s STASH discusses a... Read more →

Addiction & the Humanities Vol. 3(2) - If Leonardo smokes, so do I: The effect of smoking in movies on smoking in adolescents

Social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986) posits that interactions between various risk factors in the environment (including, individual factors, peer factors, parental involvement, and media influences) and in cognitions (including, beliefs, norms, and expectations) lead to favorable or unfavorable attitudes towards a behavior of interest (e.g., smoking), which then lead to an increased likelihood of participating in the behavior. According to this framework, exposure to smoking in movies should influence mediating attitudes towards initiating smoking among adolescent never-smokers (Sargent et al., 2002). There is a wide range of research about this topic, and this week’s issue of Addiction and the Humanities... Read more →

Op-Ed/Editorials - Making the call: Gambling helplines in the U.S.

The theme of the 2006 Institute for Research on Pathological Gambling and Related Disorders annual conference on gambling addiction was Lost in Translation? The Challenge of Turning Good Research into Best Practice. During the next few weeks, The BASIS is pleased to present a series of editorials from some of the faculty members of that conference. In this week's editorial, Christine Reilly discusses a brief survey of gambling helplines in the United States. Christine Reilly Executive Director Institute for Research on Pathological Gambling and Related Disorders One of the most visible resources for individuals concerned about their gambling is the... Read more →

Op-Ed/Editorials - The Real Costs and Benefits: How to Effectively Measure Social and Economic Impacts of Indian Gaming in the United States

The theme of the 2006 Institute for Research on Pathological Gambling and Related Disorders annual conference on gambling addiction was Lost in Translation? The Challenge of Turning Good Research into Best Practice. During the next few weeks, The BASIS is pleased to present a series of editorials from some of the faculty members of that conference. In this week's editorial, Dr. Kate Splide discusses how to effectively measure the social and economic impacts of Indian Gaming in the United States. Kate Spilde Contreras, Ph.D. Managing Director for the Center for California Native Nations at the University of California at Riverside... Read more →

ASHES Vol. 3(2) - Nicotine Dependence—It’s All in the Head

The central nervous system plays a key role in developing and maintaining a variety of pathologies, including addiction (WAGERS 8(34); 8(27); 4(34)). For example, smoking cigarettes activates the brain’s reward-system, which, in turn, stimulates pleasurable feelings (Winger, Woods, Galuska, & Wade-Galuska, 2005); (also see WAGERS 8(30); 8(38); 3 (34)). The effect of brain disease or injury provides a natural opportunity to better understand the functioning of the central nervous system by comparing injured and normal brains. To illustrate, this week’s ASHES reviews Naqvi, Rudrauf, Damasio, & Bechara's (2007) study of individuals with brain lesions, implicating a function of the brain’s... Read more →

The DRAM Vol. 3(2) - Addiction-as-Disease: It Is All It’s Constructed to Be

Social scientists who study addiction generally agree that the disease concept is historically and culturally constructed (e.g., Gusfield, 1996; Levine, 1978; MacAndrew & Edgerton, 1969; Room, 2003; Seeley, 1962). Reinarman (2005) makes the latest case, arguing that clinical research has yet to pinpoint the source or site of addiction. This is because addiction-as-disease “is a different species of social accomplishment” (Reinarman, 2005, p. 308) whose origins lay in historical, political-institutional, and interactional achievements. In the early nineteenth century, temperance advocates insisted that beverage alcohol was inherently addicting. Social problems in industrialized America were erroneously attributed to a drinker’s powerlessness to... Read more →

Op-Ed/ Editorials - Less than human: How society views people with addiction

The theme of the 2006 Institute for Research on Pathological Gambling and Related Disorders annual conference on gambling addiction was Lost in Translation? The Challenge of Turning Good Research into Best Practice. During the next few weeks, The BASIS is pleased to present a series of editorials from some of the faculty members of that conference. In this week's editorial, Dr. Debi LaPlante discusses how society views people with addiction. Dr. Debi LaPlante Instructor of Psychology, Division on Addictions Faculty, The 2006 Institute for Research on Pathological Gambling and Related Disorders annual conference on gambling and addiction Discrimination—treating someone in... Read more →

The WAGER Vol. 12(2) - How You Lost the Superbowl: Illusion of Control Over an Uncontrollable Event

At one point during their January 21st NFL playoff game against the Colts, the Patriots were winning by a score of 21 to 6. The Colts won the game by four points. How could the score change so drastically? What happened? If you were a Patriots fan watching the team while they were winning, and you suddenly had the thought, “There’s no way they could lose now,” did you inadvertently contribute to the game’s unexpected outcome? In their angst, many New England football fans might have wondered if their actions or thoughts during the game somehow influenced the sad and... Read more →

Op-Ed/Editorials: Hurdles in Gambling Research

The theme of the 2006 Institute for Research on Pathological Gambling and Related Disorders annual conference on gambling addiction was Lost in Translation? The Challenge of Turning Good Research into Best Practice. During the next few weeks, The BASIS is pleased to present a series of editorials from some of the faculty members of that conference. In this week's editorial, Douglas M. Walker discusses roadblocks to effectively estimating the social costs and benefits of gambling. Douglas M. Walker Associate Professor of Economics Georgia College Faculty, The 2006 Institute for Research on Pathological Gambling and Related Disorders annual conference on gambling... Read more →