Substance Abuse - Coursework Example

Substance abuse Alcohol Addiction and dependency are a costly and detrimental chronic disorder that is relapsing and has a biological tie. Alcohol dependence can thus be termed as continuous use of alcohol despite the negative consequences caused, and it is characterized by poor social behavior and lifestyle. The N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDAR) play a crucial role in synaptic plasticity and memory learning. Biological processes indicate that NMDAR is the primary target by ethanol (alcohol) in the brain.

NMDAR has been implicated in phenotypes associated with ethanol such as dependence, relapse, withdrawal and craving (Brunetti et al., 2012). In relation to Miller family document, Sam Miller, who is 50 years old, is experiencing alcoholic characteristic signs and symptoms that have both biological and psychological significance. Sam is divorced and is estranged from both the son and the ex-wife. He equally has a long history of work and legal problems that are instigated by his drinking habit.

According to the family history of Sam Miller, neither the father nor the mother is alcoholics and the same can be said to the grandparents. It is thus evident that the alcoholism as portrayed by Sam is not genetically acquired. Nevertheless, environmental factors can work in synergy to influence alcoholism in an individual, like peers one associate with and the nature of one’s work (Krohn, 2013). Having begun abusing alcohol at an early age, Sam has become dependent on the substance, thus has had profound implication to his life making him be termed as a social failure.

Beginning consumption of alcohol at an early stage of life leads to addiction to the drug followed by dependence. When one depends on drug, he/she becomes inefficiently functional in the absence of the drug, thus the fact that Sam Miller began consuming alcohol at an earlier stage in life has increased the dependency on alcohol.ReferencesBrunetti, M., Di Tizio, L., Dezi, S., Pozzi, G., Grandinetti, P., & Martinotti, G. (2012). Aripiprazole, alcohol and substance abuse: A review. European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences.Krohn, E. (2013).

Recovering health through cultural traditions. Fourth World Journal 12(1), 93-98. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database.lehere