Addiction & Therapeutics
Addiction is a brain disease that manifests as compulsive behavior because alterations in brain structure and function are key to its development and expression. The mesolimbic dopamine pathway is the area of the brain that drives addiction. The brain's reward circuit is another name for it. The brain receptors of an addicted person are overloaded. The brain adjusts in a manner akin to turning down a loudspeaker when the volume is too high by either creating less dopamine or by eradicating dopamine receptors.
- Substance abuse
- Substance dependence
- Chemical dependence