Does using alcohol, nicotine, or cannabis engender addiction by changing the structure of brains, or does the structure of brains incline some people toward using those substances? In standard brain ...

Addiction is one of the most common and consequential chronic medical conditions in the United States. Nationwide, more than 46 million people met the criteria for a substance abuse disorder as of ...

There are many theories about the causes of addiction, the use and abuse of legal and illegal psychoactive substances. Biology, psychology, and social and cultural elements all play a role in the ...

Addiction is not simply a chronic brain disease and considering it as such can limit treatment options and increase stigma, an extensive research review suggests. After decades of research, Professor ...

First, using an addictive substance causes the release of a chemical messenger called dopamine in the reward network, which ...

Remarkable scientific progress over the past five decades has helped us develop knowledge of how drugs of abuse induce pleasure, reinforce use, and lead to the compulsive self-administration we call ...

Researchers report October 25 in the journal Neuron that cocaine addiction disrupts the dopamine neurons that govern how we perceive and learn from rewards. Though people with cocaine addiction have ...

Grace Point Treatment Center has released an educational article examining “how drug addiction is assessed and treated within licensed clinical environments”. The resource is positioned as an ...