Textbook of Addiction Treatment: International Perspectives

We here introduce the section “Basic Sciences and Clinical Foundations.” In this section, we address the social, cultural, and regional as well as the neurobiological and genetic aspects of addiction. The foundational section of this international textbook on addiction treatment aims to provide a prologue to the topic. This section starts with chapters on neurobiology including a review of the neurotoxic and neuroadaptive consequences of chronic drug intake with a focus on alcohol. A chapter on genetics presents the heritability of addiction and its genetic and epigenetic components. The next chapter complements the focus on neurobiological correlates of addictive behavior with a discussion of animal models of addiction. The next chapter presents the international epidemiological aspects of addiction with a focus on the findings of the Global Burden of Disease Study. The role of socioenvironmental factors in diagnosis and treatment is addressed in the next chapter, which also describes their respective impact on the patient-clinician interpersonal dynamics as well as interactions in the family, intimate social networks, community at large, and policy makers. We thus emphasize how cultural factors, that is, shared beliefs, norms, and patterns of behavior, interact with drug consumption in different populations. The social patterning of psychoactive drug use differs as to whether it is medicinal, regular, intermittent, or addictive. The next chapter focuses on the prevention applications of the components discussed with a review of the international experience. These contributions underpin the evolution of diagnostic definitions and classifications reviewed in the subsequent chapter. In conclusion, this foundational section provides a focused scientific review of current knowledge. As this is the first section of this textbook, the aim is to demonstrate the basic sciences and clinical foundations and to reflect the commonalities and differences of broad global and international perspectives. A. Heinz (*) Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany e-mail: andreas.heinz@charite.de N. el-Guebaly Division of Addiction, Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada e-mail: nady.el-guebaly@ahs.ca 1