Networks involved in addiction

Addiction

What is caused by wanting to avoid withdrawal?

Withdrawal Avoidance Hypothesis

What theory says addiction continues to avoid withdrawal symptoms?

Withdrawal

What is the negative reaction when drug use stops?

WAH limits

What theory doesn’t explain using before dependence or returning after withdrawal?

Periventricular/Periaqueductal region

What brain area may be involved in withdrawal?

Self-injection experiment

What experiment showed rats could self-inject drugs and develop addiction?

Mesolimbic Pathway

What brain pathway is responsible for reward and pleasure leading to addiction?

Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA)

What part of the brain helps establish addiction in rats?

Medial Forebrain Bundle

What is the main “hub” of addiction in the brain?

Nucleus Accumbens (NAcc)

What area is rich in dopamine receptors and key for reward?

Dopamine in NAcc

What increases in this area with nearly all abused drugs?

Dopamine reduction

What decreases drug reward when dopamine levels drop in the NAcc?

Reward system

What brain system involves dopamine and motivates basic behaviors like feeding?

Dopamine limits

Why can’t dopamine alone explain all addiction behavior?

Later addiction changes

What system shows brain changes during long-term addiction?

MesoCorticoLimbic Dopamine System

What system increases the risk of relapse?

Hypofrontality

What is reduced activity in the frontal region that causes impulsivity?

Relapse factors

What include stronger drug cues and weaker response to normal rewards?

Ending dependence

What focuses on overcoming withdrawal and preventing relapse?

Withdrawal difficulty

What is hard to overcome with nicotine, opiates, or alcohol?

Relapse prevention

What is fighting against relapse called?

Agonist treatment

What replaces a drug with a safer one like methadone or nicotine gum?

Antagonist treatment

What blocks the effects of addictive drugs (e.g., GABAa blockers)?

Aversive treatment

What makes someone sick if they take the drug (e.g., Antabuse for alcohol)?

Antidrug vaccine

What stimulates the immune system to destroy the drug in the body?

Treatment controversy

What remains debated about drug-addiction medications?