Finding the reasons for and treatments to help young adults dealing with addictions is driving research for a pharmacy student at Memorial University in St. John’s.
Kathryn Dalton, a master of pharmacy student, recently captured top spot in the school of pharmacy’s Snappy Synopsis competition with her presentation “One size does not fit all: substance use in young adults.”
The research she is completing centres on her interest in the relationship between the brain and behaviour, and the factors that cause addictions.
She said doing her master’s degree in pharmacy allows her to research these topics with the ultimate goal of finding specific therapy to help patients with these issues.
“My background is in neuroscience, so I have spent the past four years studying the brain and brain development. We learned the brain is not fully developed until age 25, so I was thinking that this must have implications in terms of addictions and addictions treatment. One of the last brain regions to develop is highly involved in addictions as well,” she said.
Dalton is in the second year of her master’s program, so she is only halfway finished what her research is going to be. She completed her bachelor of science degree in neuroscience and mental health at Carleton University in Ottawa before enrolling at Memorial.
“I did complete systematic reviews, the literature reviews on young adults. I looked at all the research that’s out there on this population to see what works best for them in treatment, because they are dropping out of treatment. That is a known fact, so what will keep them in treatment and what works for them?”
The results of that research showed that standard care does work for them, but the treatment needs to be tailored toward young adults, so it needs to be youth specific as opposed to what you would give to all ages.
“Individuals living with addictions have generally been offered the same treatments regardless of age,” Dalton said.
“This one size fits all approach to addiction medicine ignores recent insights into the developing brain of the young adult, the 18- to 25-year-old. It also ignores the life differences. So we already know they are different from the pediatric under 18, but now the 18- to 25-year-olds are kind of looked at different from all adults.”
Dalton found that one of the reasons they don’t stay in treatment for nearly as long as older adults is life differences. She noted they don’t feel like they are adults yet, are not financially stable, and are in and out of the parental home.
“They don’t really have a secure job yet, so that is why I am targeting this population, thinking they should be treated differently, the developmental differences, the life differences.”
Making these bad decisions stems from the prefrontal cortex not yet being fully developed, the part that helps the individual see into the future, leading you to make the decision in the moment and not weighing the long-term effects.
“It seems to be for this population, a lot to do with peers. Peers can have a big influence on who you are hanging around with, risky peers that are leading, trying to pressure you into drugs,” Dalton said.
“You’re more likely to engage in it with a brain that is not developed, because that part of your brain is not telling you this is a not a good idea. You’re more vulnerable to peer influence at that age, too,”
The prefrontal cortex, which is the last part of the brain to develop, is what helps us make our decisions and plan our day. It helps us make informed decisions, and if we exhibit risky behaviours, it’s that lack of development that doesn’t tell us it’s a bad idea.
In addition, Dalton said we have the reward system part of the brain, that’s developing a lot sooner than the prefrontal cortex, so this imbalance is leading to vulnerability and to addiction, and can also explain why people are staying in treatment for as long.
“The second part of my research, I am going to be talking to health care professionals that work in treatment facilities, asking them what they see in this population and what they think works for them and are they noticing a difference between older adults,” Dalton said.
“Overall, the results of my research can be used to inform and advise knowledgeable users that design treatment and clinicians that are treating patients of the best approach to help young adults with addiction.”
Dalton hopes to stay in the field of substance use and addiction once her studies are complete, working with young adults and improving treatments for them.
