TITLE:
The Amen Anti-Addiction Intervention: Theoretical Foundations of a Novel Neurotrophic Protocol for the Prevention and Treatment of Addiction
AUTHORS:
Nun Sava-Siva Amen-Ra
KEYWORDS:
Neurogenesis, Addiction, Neurotrophins, Fasting, Caloric Restriction, Substance Abuse
JOURNAL NAME:
Neuroscience and Medicine,
Vol.5 No.2,
April
30,
2014
ABSTRACT:
The Amen Anti-Addiction Intervention (AAI) is
an austere regimen intended to eradicate addictive impulses and behaviors. The
theoretical and empirical foundations of this intervention are explicated
herein. The AAI entails daily cyclic fasting, chronic caloric restriction,
supplementation with specific neutraceutical agents, rigorous exercise, and
minimalist meditation. The physiological focus of the AAI is twofold: the
augmentation of neurogenesis in a manner analogous to the effect of
psychotropic drugs and the activation of areas in the brain involved in the
regulation of emotional arousal and reward. The psychological focus of the AAI
is similarly twofold: the attenuation of anxiety and/or impulsivity and the
cultivation of mental mastery and/or self-control. It shall be argued that the
AAI, by virtue of its explicit integration of biological, psychological, and
sociological elements—each of which evidently influences addiction—will
plausibly be an improvement over existing interventions aimed at the treatment
of addiction.