Topic Selection You may choose a specific aspect of addiction or substance use that interests you. It could be related to a particular substance (e.g., opioids, alcohol, nicotine), a specific population (e.g., adolescents, adults, individuals in recovery), or a particular aspect of addiction (e.g., craving, withdrawal, relapse).

Essay Instructions:

This assignment assesses the following Course Outcomes: GEL-6.04: Evaluate the usefulness of resources. Annotated Bibliography In this activity, you will delve into the fascinating field of addiction neuroscience by examining research journal articles that employ various neuroimaging techniques to investigate how addiction impacts the brain. You will gain insights into the structural and functional alterations within the brain associated with addiction and substance use disorders. In addition, this will deepen your understanding of addiction neuroscience and its application in real-world contexts, providing you with valuable insights into how neuroimaging techniques contribute to our comprehension of addiction-related changes in the brain. This assignment will allow you to assess suitable sources to see if they are helpful and provide valuable insights that go beyond just being credible. You will evaluate the strengths and limitations of various neuroimaging techniques and explore the ways in which the material from your reference sources will offer new ideas or ways to provide information that might be valuable in your future career. For this assignment, use the Unit 3 Assignment Template as you practice finding articles in the library, finding information in articles, and writing an integrated summary. An integrated summary should not list the results of each article one by one but should instead integrate together the results, as you see in introductory sections of articles. Following this, you will identify further questions on the topic that could be explored. Assignment Steps Topic Selection You may choose a specific aspect of addiction or substance use that interests you. It could be related to a particular substance (e.g., opioids, alcohol, nicotine), a specific population (e.g., adolescents, adults, individuals in recovery), or a particular aspect of addiction (e.g., craving, withdrawal, relapse). Or, you may choose to focus on substance use in general. Search for Journal Articles Utilize the PG Library to search for research journal articles. Focus on studies that use neuroimaging techniques to investigate your chosen aspect of addiction or substance use. Article Selection Criteria Select three research journal articles that meet the following criteria: Published within the last seven years to ensure the currency of the research. Employs neuroimaging techniques such as CT scans, PET scans, EEG, MRI, fMRI, TMS, etc., to investigate addiction-related changes in the brain. You must choose at least two different types of neuroimaging. Provides insights into the specific aspect of addiction or substance use you have chosen. Article Summary Write a brief summary of each selected article, including: The research question or hypothesis. The neuroimaging technique(s) used. The reason you choose this source. Discuss how the source contributed to your understanding of the content, and how it addressed information gaps or provided unique insights. Comparative Analysis Compare and contrast the findings of the selected articles. Discuss any converging or diverging results between the studies. Critical Evaluation Critically evaluate the strengths and limitations of the neuroimaging techniques employed in the articles. Assess whether the techniques have limitations in studying certain brain regions or functions, as some methods are better suited for specific types of research questions. What are the strengths and risks/weaknesses of this method of neuroimaging in this study? How did the information from this source provide concepts that could be beneficial in your future profession? Reference List Provide an APA formatted reference list for the selected articles and any additional sources used. Please review and follow the assignment requirements in the next tab titled Assignment Details. Your assignment should use the Unit 3 Assignment Template and should include the following elements: Prepare your assignment in a clear and organized manner. Your responses should reflect professional writing standards, using proper tone and language. The writing and writing style should be correct and accurate, and reflect knowledge of skills and practice of the neuroimaging techniques. Your selected articles should be relevant to the chosen topic. Your article summaries should be clear and accurate. Reference page: Sources listed in current APA format. Include a minimum of four scholarly or academic sources to support your responses and conclusions. Use current APA formatting and citation style. If you need assistance with APA style, please visit Academic Writer. Submitting your Assignment Use the Unit 3 Assignment Template and save your file in a location and with a name that you will remember. When you are ready to submit, select the Unit 3 Assignment Dropbox and upload your file. APA 7 edittion

Essay Sample Content Preview:

Unit 3 Assignment Name: What topic did you choose? Neuroimaging Techniques in the Study of AlcoholismNeuroimaging Techniques in the Study of Alcoholism Please use the information from the full text of the three articles you found to complete the table below. Be sure to fill out the table using your own words. You must paraphrase the information. Do not plagiarize. Research Articles Article 1 Zahr, N. M., & Pfefferbaum, A. (2017). Alcohol's Effects on the Brain: Neuroimaging Results in Humans and Animal Models. Alcohol Research Current Reviews. Vol. 38(2): 183-206. What is the research question or hypothesis? Neuroimaging enhances research and study of the effects of alcohol on the central nervous system of human beings across the different dynamics of alcoholism, such as alcohol use disorder, sobriety, withdrawal, and relapse to understand the implications of alcohol addiction on the human brain. What are the neuroimaging technique(s) used? Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). What are the main findings or information of the article? MRI reveals significant shrinking of the mammillary bodies in individuals with Korsakoff's syndrome (KS). MRI reveals mild shrinkage in the mammillary bodies, thalami, and hippocampi in individuals with uncomplicated alcohol use. MRI further indicates a reduction of the lateral ventricles during abstinence from alcohol. DTI shows increased mean diffusivity (MD) for individuals with Central Pontine Myelinolysis (CPM) indicating damage to the brain's white-matter. DTI also shows greater effects on the anterior parts of the brain than in the posterior part in uncomplicated use of alcohol. DTI demonstrates Significant shrinkage of the tissue-volume in the orbitofrontal cortices during alcohol abstinence. MRS shows low level of N-acetylaspartate (NAA) and total creatine (tCr) in the thalamus for individuals with alcohol related brain disorder. MRS reports lower levels of NAA in uncomplicated alcoholism and normalization of the NAA levels in the cerebellar and frontal regions of the brain for recovering alcoholics. Why did you choose this source? Discuss how it contributed to your understanding, and how it addressed information gaps or provided unique insights. The source highlights the use of different neuroimaging techniques to show the effects of alcohol addiction or alcoholism to the human brain and offers insight into their differences in application for identifying the affected brain regions in cases alcohol use brain disorders for the adoption of effective treatment regimens. What are the strengths and risks/weaknesses of the imaging tool? MRI key strength is relying on the distribution of water protons across different regions of the brain and therefore easier to detect fluctuations in cases of any defections due to factors such alcoholism. Relying on water signal limits its efficacy to identify microstructural effects of alcohol addiction to the human brain. DTI's strength is the ability to detect the anisotropic movement of water protons along the axis of a fiber in the brain making it possible to evaluate damage to the brain through the analysis of the axonal integrity. DTI is only limited to the detection of axonal integrity. MRS key strength is its ability to detect chemical shifts or signals from brain's metabolites providing a wider scope of understanding the extent of brain damage from alcoholism and other addictions. How did the information from this source provide concepts that could be beneficial in your future profession? Information from the sources offer an excellent framework for examining the manifestation of alcohol use disorders to the human brain and thus providing an equally effective platform for developing effective interventional measures for addressing such problems. Article 2 APA Reference of Article Florence L, Lassi D. L.S., Kortas, G. T., Lima, D. R., de Azevedo-Marques Périco, C., Andrade, A. G., Torales, J., Ventriglio, A., De Berardis, D., De Aquino, J. P., & Castadelli-Maia, J. M. ( 2022). Brain Correlates of the Alcohol Use Disorder Pharmacotherapy Response: A Systematic Review of Neuroimaging Studies. Brain Sciences. 12(3):386. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12030386 What is the research question or hypothesis? Biomarkers retrieved from neuroimaging techniques can be useful in analyzing changes arising from alcohol use disorder (AUD) in specific regions of the human brain and investigating the effects of pharmacotherapies on the brain's adaptation to alcoholism. What are the neuroimaging technique(s) used? Functional Magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), localized Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), Positron emission tomography (PET), and Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). What are the main findings or information of the article? A systematic review of studies that employed neuroimaging to understand the interaction of ...

Updated on September 6, 2024

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