the evolutionary origins and significance of drug addiction药物成瘾的进化起源和意义.pdfVIP

Harm Reduction Journal BioMed Central Review Open Access The evolutionary origins and significance of drug addiction Tammy Saah* Address: Stanford University School of Medicine, Transplant Immunobiology Laboratory, USA Email: Tammy Saah* - tammysaah@ * Corresponding author Published: 29 June 2005 Received: 09 August 2004 Accepted: 29 June 2005 Harm Reduction Journal 2005, 2:8 doi:10.1186/1477-7517-2-8 This article is available from: /content/2/1/8 © 2005 Saah; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Abstract By looking at drug addiction from an evolutionary perspective, we may understand its underlying significance and evaluate its three-fold nature: biology, psychology, and social influences. In this investigation it is important to delve into the co-evolution of mammalian brains and ancient psychotropic plants. Gaining an understanding of the implications of ancient psychotropic substance use in altering mammalian brains will assist in assessing the causes and effects of addiction in a modern-day context. By exploring addiction in this manner, we may move towards more effective treatment early prevention, treating the root of the issue rather than the symptoms. 1. Introduction