Brain Bee : Chapter 13

Addiction

A chronic, relapsing brain disorder characterized by compulsive seeking and use of drugs or engagement in behaviors despite harmful consequences, driven by long-lasting changes in brain reward, motivation, and self-control circuits.

Substance Use Disorder

A medical condition involving impaired control over substance use, craving, continued use despite negative consequences, tolerance, and withdrawal, reflecting altered brain function.

Reward System

A network of brain regions that reinforces behaviors essential for survival by producing feelings of pleasure and motivation, primarily mediated by dopamine signaling.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter that plays a central role in reward, motivation, learning, and reinforcement, and is heavily involved in the development of addiction.

Nucleus Accumbens

A key structure in the brain’s reward circuit that integrates dopamine signals to reinforce pleasurable experiences and motivate repeated behaviors.

Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA)

A midbrain region that produces dopamine and sends projections to the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex, playing a central role in reward and addiction.

Prefrontal Cortex

A brain region involved in decision-making, impulse control, and judgment that becomes functionally weakened in addiction, reducing the ability to resist cravings.

Limbic System

A group of brain structures involved in emotion and motivation that interacts with reward circuits and contributes to the emotional drive behind addictive behaviors.

Reinforcement

The process by which behaviors are strengthened and more likely to be repeated due to rewarding outcomes, heavily influenced by dopamine release.

Positive Reinforcement

The strengthening of behavior through pleasurable effects of a substance or activity, such as euphoria or relaxation.

Negative Reinforcement

The strengthening of behavior through relief from unpleasant states such as stress, anxiety, or withdrawal symptoms.

Tolerance

A state in which repeated exposure to a substance reduces its effect, requiring larger amounts to achieve the same level of reward.

Dependence

A physiological state in which the brain adapts to the presence of a substance, leading to withdrawal symptoms when use stops.

Withdrawal

A set of physical and psychological symptoms that occur when substance use is reduced or discontinued, reflecting the brain’s reliance on the substance.

Craving

An intense desire or urge to use a substance, driven by changes in brain circuits involved in memory, emotion, and motivation.

Cue-Induced Craving

Craving triggered by environmental cues or contexts previously associated with substance use, even after long periods of abstinence.

Learning and Memory

Brain processes that store associations between substances, rewards, and environmental cues, contributing to relapse risk.

Conditioned Associations

Learned links between drug effects and specific people, places, or situations that can trigger craving and relapse.

Neuroplasticity

The brain’s ability to change structure and function in response to experience, which underlies both the development of addiction and recovery.

Drug-Induced Neuroplasticity

Long-lasting changes in synaptic strength and neural circuits caused by repeated drug exposure, reinforcing addictive behaviors.

Stress

A major factor that increases vulnerability to addiction and relapse by activating stress-related brain systems that interact with reward circuits.

Relapse

The return to substance use after a period of abstinence, often triggered by stress, cues, or impaired self-control.

Compulsion

Repetitive drug-seeking behavior that persists despite negative consequences, reflecting loss of control over behavior.

Self-Control

The ability to regulate behavior and resist impulses, which is compromised in addiction due to impaired prefrontal cortex function.

Addictive Drugs

Substances that strongly activate reward circuits and produce long-lasting brain changes, including nicotine, alcohol, opioids, cocaine, and methamphetamine.

Opioids

A class of drugs that relieve pain and produce euphoria by activating opioid receptors, with high risk for dependence and overdose.

Nicotine

A highly addictive substance found in tobacco that rapidly increases dopamine release and strengthens conditioned associations.

Alcohol

A depressant drug that affects multiple neurotransmitter systems and can lead to addiction through repeated activation of reward pathways.

Behavioral Addiction

Compulsive engagement in non-drug-related behaviors, such as gambling, that activate the same reward circuits as substance addiction.

Treatment

Interventions aimed at reducing substance use and supporting recovery, including behavioral therapy, medication, and social support.

Recovery

A long-term process of brain and behavioral change that allows individuals to regain control over substance use and maintain abstinence.