Psychological trauma: Biological and psychosocial aspects of substance use disorders

Abstract

Drug addiction is a multifactorial disorder of a biopsychosocial nature. A number of authors suggest that adverse experiences, particularly in the early years of life, can lead to cognitive, emotional, and social damage. These studies demonstrate that prenatal stress, neglect, physical and emotional abuse, and exposure to stressors can cause structural and functional damage to the brain, especially in regions responsible for processing emotions and controlling behavior. These neurophysiological alterations correlate with the maintenance of psychiatric disorders, such as behavioral dependencies and related psychopathologies, since they can impair cognitive performance and, therefore, increase the recurrence of potentially harmful health behaviors, such as the harmful use of substances. This chapter aims to describe these relationships between exposure to stressful events and traumatic experiences and drug use and dependence, to identify and discuss the vulnerabilities that predispose to these health problems.