Preface

This edited volume is a collection of reviewed and relevant research chapters concerning the developments within the drug addiction field of study. The book includes scholarly contri‐ butions by various authors and is edited by a group of experts pertinent to the subject field. Each contribution comes as a separate chapter complete in itself but directly related to the book's topics and objectives.

Chapter 1 is concerned with deep brain stimulation (DBS) in treatment-refractory addiction. Surgical treatment for addiction has been proposed after the success of DBS for the treat‐ ment of neurological movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease. In the field of psychi‐ atric diseases, DBS has been used for obsessive compulsive disorder and treatment-resistant depression. The role in addiction has been proposed only recently.

Chapter 2 studies the effects of alcohol on brain development. Approximately 3.3 million deaths worldwide occur every year due to harmful use of alcohol. This represents 5.9% of all deaths. Ethanol metabolites production and their post-translation modification are one of the proposed mechanisms that lead to neuronal toxicity.

Chapter 3 focuses on the relationship between bereavement and addiction, specifically among those patients who have a diagnosis of substance use disorder. Although bereave‐ ment research has advanced greatly in the recent years, there are few studies on bereave‐ ment among the drug-dependent population.

Chapter 4 overviews nursing care for persons with drug addiction. Persons with drug ad‐ diction exhibit symptoms that affect the central nervous system, which lead to both positive and negative symptoms. Drug addiction is a significant problem and needs more treatment and care from multidisciplinary treatment teams.

Chapter 5 deals with molecular-cellular targets of the pathogenetic action of ethanol in the human brain in ontogenesis and targeted therapy aimed at correcting the effect of pathogen‐ ic factors.

Chapter 6 investigates emotions and characters of Internet abusers using psychophysiologi‐ cal signals. Because of the Internet and Internet-enabled devices are ubiquitous, the number of Internet users has rapidly increased. Internet addiction is also a fast-growing, serious, and unavoidable problem around the world.

Chapter 7 offers an insight into methadone treatment for heroin dependence. In substitution therapy for the treatment of heroin addiction, methadone is the synthetic opioid agonist of first choice. The results obtained by clinical, laboratory, and psychological complex evalua‐ tions in a correlative approach are essential not only in both initiating the methadone treat‐ ment and monitoring the detox period but also in the supervision of methadone maintenance treatment.

The target audience of this edited volume comprises scholars and specialists in the field.

**Chapter 1**

**Provisional chapter**

**Deep Brain Stimulation in Treatment-Refractory**

**Deep Brain Stimulation in Treatment-Refractory** 

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.73694

Surgical treatment for addiction has been proposed after the successful efficacy of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for the treatment of neurological movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease (PD). In the field of psychiatric diseases, DBS has been used firstly for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and treatment-resistant depression. The role in addiction has been proposed only recently. The target areas for DBS in treatment-refractory addiction are nucleus accumbens (NAcc), lateral hypothalamus (LH), amigdala, lateral habenula (LHb), dorsal striatum, prefrontal cortex (PFC) and subthalamic nucleus (STN). A well-documented rationale for the choice of the target is required in order to investigate the effectiveness, safety and feasibility. NAcc appears to be the most effective and safe target for DBS followed by STN; PFC is another promising target but needs further exploration to establish its suitability for clinical purposes. DBS is not free of risks, so every patient has to be carefully evaluated and precise ethical standards must be defined in the form of inclu-

**Keywords:** deep brain stimulation, psychosurgery, addiction, nucleus accumbens,

The term "psychosurgery" was coined by Egas Moniz in 1935 to indicate the set of surgical procedures performed on the brain to treat diseases and psychiatric symptoms. The goal is to change the behavioral—obviously pathological—aspects, placing not only clinically but also

> © 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Angelo Lavano, Giusy Guzzi, Attilio Della Torre,

Angelo Lavano, Giusy Guzzi, Attilio Della Torre, Donatella Gabriele, Domenico Chirchiglia,

Carmelino Angelo Stroscio and Giorgio Volpentesta

Carmelino Angelo Stroscio and Giorgio Volpentesta

Donatella Gabriele, Domenico Chirchiglia,

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.73694

sion and exclusion criteria.

nucleus subthalamicus

**1. Introduction**

**Abstract**

**Addiction**

**Addiction**

#### **Deep Brain Stimulation in Treatment-Refractory Addiction Deep Brain Stimulation in Treatment-Refractory Addiction**

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.73694

VIII Preface

Angelo Lavano, Giusy Guzzi, Attilio Della Torre, Donatella Gabriele, Domenico Chirchiglia, Carmelino Angelo Stroscio and Giorgio Volpentesta Angelo Lavano, Giusy Guzzi, Attilio Della Torre, Donatella Gabriele, Domenico Chirchiglia, Carmelino Angelo Stroscio and Giorgio Volpentesta

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.73694

#### **Abstract**

Surgical treatment for addiction has been proposed after the successful efficacy of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for the treatment of neurological movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease (PD). In the field of psychiatric diseases, DBS has been used firstly for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and treatment-resistant depression. The role in addiction has been proposed only recently. The target areas for DBS in treatment-refractory addiction are nucleus accumbens (NAcc), lateral hypothalamus (LH), amigdala, lateral habenula (LHb), dorsal striatum, prefrontal cortex (PFC) and subthalamic nucleus (STN). A well-documented rationale for the choice of the target is required in order to investigate the effectiveness, safety and feasibility. NAcc appears to be the most effective and safe target for DBS followed by STN; PFC is another promising target but needs further exploration to establish its suitability for clinical purposes. DBS is not free of risks, so every patient has to be carefully evaluated and precise ethical standards must be defined in the form of inclusion and exclusion criteria.

**Keywords:** deep brain stimulation, psychosurgery, addiction, nucleus accumbens, nucleus subthalamicus
