Contiene: índice analítico y referencias bibliográficas

Structure of the report. Psychoactive substances and their sociolegal status. Global use of psychoactive substances. Tobacco. Alcohol. Illicit use of controlled substances. Adverse effects of psychoactive substances and their mechanisms
of action.Substance dependence in relation to neuroscience. The burden of harm to health from psychoactive substance use. Brain Mechanisms: Neurobiology and Neuroanatomy. Organization of the brain. The neuron. Cell body. Dendrites. Axon. Terminal buttons. Neurotransmission. Action potential. Neurotransmitter release. Receptors. Neurotransmitters. Acetylcholine. γ-aminobutyric acid. Glutamate. Dopamine. Norepinephrine. Serotonin. Peptides. Genes. Cellular and neuronal effects of psychoactive substances. Cellular effects. Neuronal effects. Biobehavioural Processes Underlying. Dependence. Classical or Pavlovian conditioning. Instrumental or operant conditioning. Reinforcer. Reward. Incentive. Motivation. Incentive-motivational responding. Drug reward alone does not explain drug dependence. Drug dependence as a response to incentive-motivation. Drug dependence as a response to drug withdrawal. Dopamine and reinforcement learning. Dependence-producing drugs as surrogates of conventional. reinforcers. Dopamine and incentive sensitization. Psychomotor sensitization. Sensitization and drug reward. Sensitization and tolerance. Individual differences. Psychopharmacology of Dependence for Different. Drug Classes. Alcohol (ethanol). Behavioural effects. Mechanism of action. Tolerance and withdrawal. Neurobiological adaptations to prolonged use. Pharmacological treatment of alcohol dependence. Sedatives and hypnotics. Tolerance and withdrawal. Neurobiological adaptations to prolonged use. Tobacco. Pharmacological treatment of nicotine dependence. Opioids. Pharmacological treatment of opioid dependence. Cannabinoids. Cocaine (hydrochloride and crack). Pharmacological treatment of cocaine dependence. Amphetamines. Ecstasy. Volatile solvents. Hallucinogens. Genetic Basis of Substance Dependence. Family, twin and adoption studies: estimations of heritability. Identifying chromosomal locations of interest: linkage studies. Candidate gene approach. Animal studies. Genetics of tobacco dependence. Heritability of tobacco dependence. Tobacco dependence and linkage studies. Candidate genes for tobacco dependence. Genetics of alcohol dependence. Heritability of alcohol dependence. Alcohol dependence and linkage studies. Candidate genes for alcohol dependence. Genetics of opioid dependence. Heritability of opioid dependence. Opioid dependence and linkage studies. Candidate genes for opioid dependence. Genetics of the combined risk of dependence on tobacco, alcohol, opioids and other psychoactive substances. Heritability of substance dependence. Linkage studies of substance dependence. Candidate genes involved in substance dependence. Confounding issues in linkage and candidate gene studies. Environment. Genetice heterogeneity. Phenotype. Comorbidity. Methodological issues. Future directions. Social and cultural aspects. Risk factors and protective factors for dependence: an overview. Concurrent Disorders. Hypotheses that may explain the observed comorbidity. Schizophrenia. Tobacco smoking and schizophrenia. Psychostimulant (cocaine and amphetamine) dependence and schizophrenia. Alcohol use and schizophrenia Neurobiological interactions between schizophrenia and the effects of psychoactive substances. Depression. Tobacco smoking and depression. Psychostimulant dependence and depression. Alcohol use and depression. Neurobiological interactions between depression and the effects of psychoactive substances. Ethical Issues in Neuroscience. Research on Substance. Dependence Treatment and Prevention. Types of research on neuroscience of substance dependence. Animal experiments. Epidemiological research on substance dependence. Experimental studies in humans. Clinical trials of pharmacotherapy for substance dependence. Trials of pharmacotherapies to prevent substance dependence. Approach to ethical analysis. Principles of biomedical ethics. Human rights. Ethics of animal experimentation in neuroscience research. Ethical principles in human biomedical research. Independent ethical review of risks and benefits informed consent. Recruitment of subjects. Privacy and confidentiality. Emerging ethical issues in neuroscience research. Research on vulnerable persons. Are substance dependent people vulnerable persons?. Provocation studies. Ethical issues in epidemiological research on substance dependence. Ethical issues in clinical trials of pharmacological treatments for substance dependence. Trial design. Distributive justice. Conflicts of interest. Trials of preventive pharmacological interventions for substance dependence. Early intervention studies. Preventive use of drug immunotherapies. Implications of neuroscience research for models of substance dependence. Implications of neuroscience research for the treatment of substance dependence. Access to treatment. Legally coerced treatment. Conclusion and Implications for Public Health Policy. Advances in the neuroscience of psychoactive substance use and dependence and their implications. Potential advances in policy, prevention and treatment. Ethical issues in the application of neuroscience findings. Implications for public health policy.