Nuerosience of Addiction
The Neuroscience of Addiction or NOA curriculum was AES’s first program.
This brainchild of Dr. Alex Stalcup is a six-session, comprehensive, science- & evidence-based program that communicates the brain’s involvement in the development of the disease of addiction. It also addresses brain development, risk factors, and introduces the Pleasure Scale, a scientific model of addiction. It is a complete solution to any alcohol, tobacco, or other drug (ATOD) prevention need. This 6-session curriculum provides the student with the knowledge, understanding, and skills necessary to make intelligent & healthy decisions about substance use. There are add-on modules available for education on topics such as:
Fentanyl: Why now?
Refusal Skills & Role Playing
Guide to Rehab
Home Experiments
Learning Objectives
- 01 Students can describe how drugs affect the brain’s pleasure system.
- 02 Students will use the Pleasure Scale over four days to measure their craving score via their cell phone using The Craving Experiment app.
- 03 Students can describe what an addictive drug is.
- 04 Students can describe how the brain neuro-adapts to protect itself from too much stimulation.
- 05 Students can identify one factor that shows a brain has developed tolerance, the first step of addiction.
- 06 Students can use the Pleasure Scale to explain how withdrawal creates the “opposite of high”.
- 07 Students can describe how craving weakens decision-making in the prefrontal cortex, leading to a loss of control over choices.
- 08 Students will use a case study to analyze the extent of someone’s addiction.
- 09 Students can explain four causes of relapse when someone is trying to quit.
- 10 Students will use a case study to analyze the causes of relapse.
- 11 Students can identify factors that make people more likely to become addicted.
- 12 Students can describe how drug use affects brain development in adolescence.
- 13 Students can identify factors that help people avoid addiction and increase resilience in a case study.
- 14 Students will reflect on their experience of craving awareness in the Craving Experiment.
Neuroscience of Addiction Curriculum (NOA)
Program Session At-A-Glance v.7
Session #1
How do drugs affect the brain's pleasure system?
Student Pre-Survey
Pleasure Scale Model: Positive & Negative Feelings
"The Craving Experiment"
CA Healthy Kids Survey
E-Cigarettes Usage
Session #2
How does the brain adapt to drug use?
What is a Drug?
Neuro-Adaptation, Tolerance & Withdrawal
Drug Street Names
The Opposite of High Model
"How Did This Happen To Me?" Video
Session #3
When someone is addicted, who is in control?
Withdrawal Symptoms
Continued Use Despite Adverse Consequences
How to Measure the Severity of the Disease
Case Studies
Session #4
Why is it so hard to quit?
Craving & Denial
Why People Relapse
Environmental Cueing
Vaping Module
Case Studies & Parent/Adult Perspective Interview
Session #5
Who is at risk for addiction?
The Bio-Psycho-Social Model
Who Gets Addicted & Why
Risk Factors for Addiction
Craving Experiment Reflections
"How Did This Happen To Me?" Video 2A
Case Studies
Session #6
How can people build protection into their lives?
Protective & Resilience Factors
Family Genetics
Onset of Alcohol Dependency by Age
School/Community Resources
"How Did This Happen To Me?" Video 2B
Signs of Addiction New Video Segment
Case Studies & Student Post-Survey
Neuroscience of Addiction
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