[**http://www.timesreview.com/sun10-25-02/index.htm**](http://www.timesreview.com/sun10-25-02/index.htm)

**The north shore sun, October 25, 2002**

**Brain matter**\
*For these scientists, addiction is more than a state of mind\
By AMBROSE CLANCY*

**UPTON**\--The reason one person can binge on drugs and walk away
realizing the abyss ahead, and another, over time, will lose everything
to the narcotic, probably has little to do with will power or moral
strength, according to a researcher at the Brookhaven National
Laboratory.

A study published in this month\'s \"American Journal of Psychiatry,\"
written by clinical psychologist Dr. Rita Goldstein and her colleague,
Dr. Nora Volkow, reviews research, especially using brain imaging, on
addiction. One of the results, the two researchers claim, is the cortex
\-- that part of the brain which rules cognitive functions such as
thinking, learning and memory \-- is significantly involved in addiction

\"Drug addiction, for a long time, had been viewed as involving the
subcortex, that part of the brain that governs the emotions, the
sensations and the unconditioned response,\" said Dr. Goldstein.

But areas of the frontal cortex, the article states, are \"most
frequently implicated in drug addiction. They are activated in addicted
subjects during intoxication, craving and bingeing, and they are
deactivated during withdrawal.\"

Dr. Goldstien said one of the major functions of the frontal cortex is
\"to decide what\'s important \-- what do we focus on?\"

\"Those addicted to drugs sacrifice families, careers, self-respect,
absolutely everything to focus only one thing: the drug of choice,\" she
said.

Charles Greco, a clinical social worker with an office in Wading River,
said the research was important and would be helpful, but addiction is a
many-faceted problem that had to be treated in a variety of ways.

\"The neurological examinations and studies are great, but it doesn\'t
negate how we\'ll treat addicted people,\" Mr. Greco said, noting one of
his clients, an alcoholic, had been part of studies at the laboratory.
\"We will still have to treat people in terms of environment, culture
and a whole host of other factors.\"

In a report published in August 2001, Dr. Goldstein and colleagues
pointed out one of the enigmas of addiction \-- the need to continue
abusing drugs for seemingly no reason. \"One of the hallmarks of drug
dependence is the compulsive drug self-administration that occurs in
addicted individuals even when the drug is no longer perceived as
pleasurable and in the presence of adverse physical reactions to the
drug,\" the 2001 report said.

Born in Lithuania and raised in Israel, Dr. Goldstein received her
doctorate from the University of Miami in 1992 and has been at
Brookhaven National Laboratory for three years. Her research has been
focused on crack cocaine addicts.

Her method is to take approximately 20 people per study group, half
addicted and half not, and use, among other techniques, Magnetic
Resonance Imaging (MRI) along with Positron Emission Tomography (PET).

PET scans are particularly effective, Dr. Goldstein said, because the
techniques used measure movement and concentration of substances in
living tissue. \"This technology allows us to see functions in the
brain, and not simply the anatomy,\" she said.

But the machines can also be intimidating, resulting in a loss of
research. \"We\'ve had great success with subjects all the way through
the study until they see the MRI and become too anxious to continue,\"
Dr. Goldstein said.

For all the technological advances, Dr. Goldstein pointed out addiction
is a flesh-and-blood problem. \"I\'m a psychologist and I\'m interested
in the interplay between the brain and human behavior,\" she said.
\"Ultimately, we have to find the behavioral techniques people can use
to stay abstinent.\"

The researchers are always looking for volunteers to take part in the
study. Please call Naomi Pappas at (631) 344-5015 or Lisa Zimmerman at
(631) 344-2773.

photo - Sun photo by Michael Cody\
Rita Goldstein, a research psychologist at Brookhaven National
Laboratory, and some of her colleagues have plenty.