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Addiction is a brain disorder characterized by compulsive drug use despite adverse consequences. [ 36 ] [ 56 ] [ 57 ] [ 58 ] Addiction involves the overstimulation of the brain's mesocorticolimbic reward circuit ( reward system ), essential for motivating behaviors linked to survival and reproductive fitness, like seeking food and sex. [ 59 ]
One form of behavioral neuropharmacology focuses on the study of drug dependence and how drug addiction affects the human mind. Most research has shown that the major part of the brain that reinforces addiction through neurochemical reward is the nucleus accumbens. The image to the right shows how dopamine is projected into this area.
Chemistry, not moral failing, accounts for the brain’s unwinding. In the laboratories that study drug addiction, researchers have found that the brain becomes conditioned by the repeated dopamine rush caused by heroin. “The brain is not designed to handle it,” said Dr. Ruben Baler, a scientist with the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Addiction is a disease which alters the structure and function of the brain. The brain circuitry may take months or years to recover after the addict has recovered. [42] Contingency Management can be a treatment used to treat psychoactive addictions, which aims to change behavior by incorporating positive and negative reinforcements. [43]
After long-term use of dopamine agonists, a withdrawal syndrome may occur during dose reduction or discontinuation with the following possible side effects: anxiety, panic attacks, dysphoria, depression, agitation, irritability, suicidal ideation, fatigue, orthostatic hypotension, nausea, vomiting, diaphoresis, generalized pain, and drug ...
In psychopharmacology, researchers are interested in any substance that crosses the blood–brain barrier and thus has an effect on behavior, mood, or cognition. Drugs are researched for their physiochemical properties, physical side effects, and psychological side effects.
Experience-dependent neural plasticity is a hallmark of repeated drug exposure and refers to the adaptation of the brain due to increased levels of the drug in the body. [22] In this sense, repeated exposure falls under both physiological vulnerability and behavioral/psychological vulnerability to addiction.
Drug addiction, which belongs to the class of substance-related disorders, is a chronic and relapsing brain disorder that features drug seeking and drug abuse, despite their harmful effects. [28] This form of addiction changes brain circuitry such that the brain's reward system is compromised, [ 29 ] causing functional consequences for stress ...