What integrated interdisciplinary and translational research may tell us about addiction
Abstract
In his article (1), Kalant raises important points regarding how addiction is conceptualized and researched. This topic seems particularly timely given current preparations for the next editions of the International Classification of Diseases and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM). At the article’s onset, Kalant provides a definition for addiction: “compulsive use of the drug despite the occurrence of adverse consequences.” Although this definition was widely agreed upon in prior iterations of the DSM including the current DSM-IV-TR (2), several DSM-V research workgroups (including those relating to substance use disorders and obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders) have recently discussed at length the extent to which non-substance behaviors or disorders (e.g., related to gambling) should be considered addictions (3).
Kalant cites the importance to studies of addiction of the decision to self-administer drug (or by extension engage in the potentially addictive behavior) by individuals who become addicted. Decision-making represents an important and arguably central component of addiction (4), and performance of individuals with addictions on neurocognitive tasks assessing decision-making has been associated with treatment outcome (5) and real-life measures such as the ability to maintain employment (6). Precisely how decision-making relates to addictions, however, is less clear. For example, individual differences in decision-making prior to substance exposure could…
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