A Computer Game Which Shows the Possibility of Opioid Reuse

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Drug addiction is one of the important problems. The need to solve it is a heavy burden on modern society. The number of substances that can cause addiction is large and the lists of what should be considered drugs every year are expanding. However, speaking of drug addiction, we primarily mean opioid dependence. No other type of addiction causes so many problems, both to the dependent and to society, and does not lead to so many deaths from overdoses.

Unfortunately, people don't always have money for treatment. It is common to think the rehabilitation programs are expensive and rehabs don't like providing help and information on drug addiction for free. However, there is free drug addiction treatment provided by faith-based organizations, government, or even some private centers to homeless, unemployed, and impoverished addicts.

A New Treatment Method

As a reaction to the terrible statistics, psychologists from the University of New York have developed a computer game that allows you to assess the opioid reuse likelihood of the patient, who is at the final stage of treatment from opioid addiction. A paper published in the JAMA Psychiatry journal could be the basis for developing a clinical tool to track and reduce the number of drug-addicted patients who start using opiates after treatment again.

The drug treatment of drug addicts with methadone, buprenorphine, and naloxone shows good efficacy. However, the positive effect of these drugs is largely offset by the lack of reliable tools for assessing the patient's response to therapy. The new development makes it possible to evaluate how high the probability of a person returning to the drugs is and allows to adjust the treatment program.

Scientists have proposed using a computer app to evaluate such a probability, which simulates gambling with bets and cash rewards. For studying the effectiveness of such a tool, the researchers selected 70 patients from the Bellevue Hospital Center in New York who were treated for drug addiction. An additional 50 patients with approximately the same distribution by gender, age, and race, but never suffering from opioid dependence, were selected as a control group in the same institution.

The subjects played weekly for seven months. The game was built in such a way that patients could receive less reward with a 50% probability or risk more virtual chips to win a big reward with unclear chances. For all test participants, preparedness schedules for accepting risks were drawn up.

The results of the experiment were compared with the data of questionnaires, in which the subjects were interviewed for the desire to try drugs again or for the presence of recent "disruptions" in history. Scientists have found that patients who are prone to take risks in the game are more likely to interrupt the process of anti-drug therapy using opioids.

"Our research shows that computer diagnostic tests can offer a new useful feature," says lead author of the study, Paul Glimcher. According to the scientist, in the treatment of addiction, patients can experience a kind of "ups and downs": at some points, they show determination in the desire to get rid of the addiction, but at times they are ready to risk the work done for a fleeting pleasure. The application, developed by Glimcher and his colleagues, will help to identify critical moments in the psychological state of patients and prevent breakdowns.

Mode of action

Of all types of opiate addiction, heroin addiction is the most common. Outbreaks of heroin addiction appeared in the United States in the mid-70s, in the mid-70s, and in the early 80s. Heroin addiction is associated with a number of risk factors. The intravenous route of administration leads to the spread of viral hepatitis B and, more recently, infection with AIDS. Intravenous drug addicts are a major high-risk group for AIDS. Medicinal use of heroin is also prohibited in the United States.

Opioids easily cross the blood-brain barrier (a semipermeable membrane consisting of tightly spaced capillaries and cells that separates the brain from the bloodstream, performing a protective function). This is what allows the effect of opioids to be incredibly strong, which gives the person who has used the drug a feeling of "instant reward."

Over time, the use of opioids causes changes in the physiology of the brain, affecting the mechanisms of promotion, disrupting neural connections, and reducing the amount of gray matter.

Free drug addiction treatment

Usually, people consider rehabilitation centers as a luxury to reach people. Luckily, everybody can get free addiction help, regardless of their age, gender, and social status. There are always many options, such as government-supported programs or Christian organizations. Solid research can be crucial in such cases and must be done after acknowledging you have a problem.

When people are just starting to try drugs, they can say that this happens voluntarily. But with the developed dependence, a person is no longer able to stop using it of his own free will. Drug addiction is a chronic brain disease that forces a person to use drugs, despite the harmful effects. If a person stops taking drugs, they have an abstinence syndrome, which is accompanied by very poor health, and the person becomes unable to control his craving for drugs. If it happened to you, your "just for fun" turned into a real addiction.

It's better not to use the quitting methods (like cold turkey) on your own. A medical expert always knows better how to cope with the problems you will face. There are free gender-, age-specific, or Christian rehabilitation centers. You can also find a lot of programs for the LGBTQ+ community. Some plans cover only a part of expenses, but there are government-supported subsidies which can be easily found on the Internet.

So, what is the best place to find out everything about the facilities? The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has collected a national directory of free drug rehabilitation centers on their site. You can start by checking SAMHSA's site.

And remember: if you know what to look for, you will find it. For the very beginning, the Internet and your family support are everything you need.