Vol 9, No 4 - Addictive Substances
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ear Colleagues, The Editorial Board of Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience has for quite some time wished to publish an issue on addictive behaviors.The motivation for this issue was obvi- ously not to provide an exhaustive catalog of the various substance addictions, but rather to explore the kinds of problems created by these addictions in current times, and, in particular, the incidence of these problems. The confluence of addictive tendencies and the means to satisfy them easily, both by way of technological and scientific advances (man-made drugs) and an economy which tends towards the excessive, has led directly to an increase in the quantity and variety of addictive substances consumed. As society in general becomes less strict and more flexible, an increasing number of oral, societal, and metaphysical references are disappearing. This does not help frag- ile personalities, particularly young people whose identities are maturing, to reinforce their defense mechanisms against addictive behaviors. The variable nature of these defense mechanisms, along with feelings of frustra- tion and poor adaptation to social conditions or to reality, can at times lead to a rein- forcement of the psychological element of dependence. Access to man-made drugs renders the cost of the product less relevant, and facil- itates consumption. It is clear that within the context of this journal we cannot remain indifferent to this problem in society. We have endeavored in this issue to present a variety of views from a series of specialists on the problems mentioned above. I would like to thank these authors for the excellent articles they have provided. Sincerely yours, Jean-Paul Macher, MD E d i t o r i a l D