Zaburzenie związane z używaniem substancji (uzależnienie od substancji)
Patofizjologia i mechanizm

Zaburzenie związane z używaniem substancji jest przewlekłą chorobą mózgu charakteryzującą się kompulsywnym poszukiwaniem i przyjmowaniem substancji mimo negatywnych konsekwencji. Neurobiologicznie uzależnienie wiąże się z dysfunkcją układu nagrody, głównie szlaku mezolimbicznego, gdzie dochodzi do patologicznego uwalniania dopaminy w jądro półleżące (NAc) z pola brzusznego nakrywki (VTA). Powtarzane używanie substancji prowadzi do neuroadaptacji, takich jak zmiany w stosunku AMPA/NMDA w neuronach dopaminergicznych, wyczerpania rezerw dopaminy oraz rozwoju tolerancji i zależności fizycznej. Objawy odstawienia różnią się w zależności od substancji, przy czym odstawienie opiatów jest nieprzyjemne, ale nie zagraża życiu, natomiast odstawienie alkoholu, benzodiazepin i barbituranów może być śmiertelne. Czynniki genetyczne odpowiadają za 40-60% podatności na uzależnienie, a przewlekły stres i zaburzenia psychiczne, takie jak depresja czy PTSD, znacząco wpływają na rozwój i utrzymanie zaburzenia.

Patogeneza zaburzenia związanego z używaniem substancji (uzależnienia od substancji)

Zaburzenie związane z używaniem substancji, często określane jako uzależnienie od substancji, jest definiowane jako przewlekła choroba mózgu charakteryzująca się kompulsywnym poszukiwaniem i przyjmowaniem substancji mimo znaczących szkodliwych konsekwencji. Współczesna medycyna opisuje uzależnienie jako przewlekłą, postępującą chorobę psychiczną z tendencją do somatyzacji.12 Aby zrozumieć mechanizmy leżące u podstaw tego zaburzenia, konieczne jest poznanie neurobiologicznych procesów zachodzących w mózgu, które prowadzą do rozwoju i utrzymywania się uzależnienia.3

Mechanizmy neurobiologiczne uzależnienia

Uzależnienie od substancji rozwija się na skutek zmian w strukturze i funkcjonowaniu mózgu. Substancje psychoaktywne ingerują w sposób, w jaki neurony wysyłają, odbierają i przetwarzają sygnały za pośrednictwem neuroprzekaźników.4 Mózg doświadcza przyjemności z wielu różnych aktywności, które lubimy robić w życiu, takich jak jedzenie słodyczy, kontakty seksualne czy granie w gry. Za te doznania odpowiada dopamina uwalniana w układzie nagrody mózgu.5 Jednak substancje uzależniające powodują znacznie większe i szybsze uwalnianie dopaminy, co można porównać do różnicy między szeptem do ucha a krzykiem do mikrofonu.6

Kluczową rolę w uzależnieniu odgrywa szlak mezolimbiczny, określany również jako układ nagrody.7 Jest to droga dopaminergiczna prowadząca z pola brzusznego nakrywki (VTA) do jądra półleżącego (NAc, znanego również jako brzuszne prążkowie), które następnie wysyła sygnały przez gałkę bladą brzuszną (VP).8 Badania jednoznacznie wskazują, że ośrodki mózgu zaangażowane w uzależnienie zostały scharakteryzowane w badaniach przedklinicznych i badaniach obrazowych u ludzi.9

Proces rozwoju uzależnienia

Rozwój uzależnienia przebiega przez kilka kluczowych etapów. Początkowo substancje psychoaktywne oddziałują na struktury mezolimbiczne mózgu, głównie w układzie nagrody, prowadząc do intensywnego wydzielania neuroprzekaźników, przede wszystkim dopaminy.10 To wywołuje skrajne pobudzenie układu nagrody, któremu towarzyszą pozytywne reakcje emocjonalne i uczucie euforii.11

Po pierwszej ekspozycji, kiedy substancja jest przyjmowana dobrowolnie dla jej rekreacyjnych i hedonistycznych efektów, następuje stopniowa konsolidacja uzależnienia podczas powtarzanego, ale wciąż kontrolowanego używania substancji. W miarę jak administracja substancji intensyfikuje się wraz z utratą kontroli nad jej przyjmowaniem, używanie staje się nawykowe i kompulsywne u podatnych osób.12

Niektóre substancje, takie jak marihuana i heroina, mogą aktywować neurony, ponieważ ich struktura chemiczna naśladuje naturalny neuroprzekaźnik w organizmie. Pozwala to substancjom przyłączać się i aktywować neurony. Chociaż te substancje naśladują własne chemikalia mózgu, nie aktywują neuronów w taki sam sposób jak naturalny neuroprzekaźnik, co prowadzi do przesyłania nieprawidłowych sygnałów przez sieć neuronową.13 Inne substancje, takie jak amfetamina czy kokaina, mogą powodować uwalnianie przez neurony nieprawidłowo dużych ilości naturalnych neuroprzekaźników lub zapobiegać normalnemu recyklingowi tych chemikaliów mózgowych poprzez zakłócanie działania transporterów, co również wzmacnia lub zakłóca normalną komunikację między neuronami.14

Zmiany w strukturze mózgu

Powtarzające się używanie substancji prowadzi do zmian w strukturze mózgu. Badania wskazują, że przewlekłe używanie substancji psychoaktywnych prowadzi do zaburzeń w funkcjonowaniu neuroprzekaźników.15 Długotrwałe i częste przyjmowanie substancji psychoaktywnych prowadzi do wyczerpania rezerw neuroprzekaźników, zwłaszcza dopaminy.16 Niedobór dopaminy w mózgu prowadzi do pragnienia narkotyków i nawrotów.17

Substancje uzależniające powodują również specyficzną plastyczność synaptyczną w układzie mezolimbicznym. Na przykład wykazano, że stosunek AMPA/NMDA jest zwiększony w neuronach dopaminergicznych VTA po jednej dawce kokainy oraz że niektóre receptory AMPA zawierające podjednostkę GluA2 są wymieniane na receptory bez GluA2.18 Wczesna utrata kontroli hamującej w połączeniu z potencjalizacją synaps glutaminergicznych na neuronach dopaminergicznych może reprezentować adaptacje, które zwiększają podatność na uzależnienie.19

Tolerancja i zależność

Z długotrwałym używaniem substancji wiążą się dwa kluczowe zjawiska: tolerancja i zależność. Tolerancja rozwija się, gdy powtarzane używanie substancji zmienia sposób, w jaki mózg odczuwa przyjemność.20 Uzależniająca substancja powoduje fizyczne zmiany w niektórych komórkach nerwowych (neuronach) w mózgu, które mogą utrzymywać się długo po zaprzestaniu używania substancji.21

W miarę rozwoju tolerancji, mózg staje się bardziej odporny na dopaminę (efekt znany jako tolerancja), próbując dostosować się do jej nadmiaru produkowanego podczas używania substancji. Ten zmniejszony efekt oznacza, że substancje stają się mniej nagradzające, a głód narasta.22 Osoby, u których rozwija się zaburzenie związane z używaniem substancji, odkrywają, że z czasem substancja nie daje im już takiej samej przyjemności jak wcześniej, w związku z czym muszą przyjmować większe ilości substancji częściej, aby odczuć jej działanie.23

Zależność fizyczna pojawia się, gdy ciało dostosowuje się do obecności substancji i wymaga jej do normalnego funkcjonowania. Objawy odstawienia mogą wystąpić, gdy używanie substancji jest ograniczone lub przerwane, co dodatkowo wzmacnia cykl uzależnienia.24 Badania pokazują, że odstawienie opiatów, chociaż niezwykle nieprzyjemne, nie jest zagrażające życiu, w przeciwieństwie do odstawienia alkoholu, benzodiazepin czy barbituranów, które może być śmiertelne.2526

Rola stresu w uzależnieniu

Stres od dawna jest związany z nadużywaniem substancji i zaburzeniami związanymi z używaniem substancji.27 Ostatnie dwie dekady przyniosły gwałtowny wzrost badań mających na celu zrozumienie podstawowych mechanizmów napędzających to powiązanie.28

Przewlekły stres może prowadzić jednostki w kierunku uzależnienia na kilka sposobów. Gdy jesteśmy zestresowani, organizm uwalnia hormony stresu, takie jak kortyzol. Hormony te mogą zakłócać układ nagrody mózgu, powodując, że ludzie są bardziej skłonni do poszukiwania przyjemnych aktywności lub substancji, aby zrekompensować negatywne uczucia związane ze stresem.29

Przewlekły stres może również osłabić kontrolę impulsów, utrudniając opieranie się impulsom do używania substancji uzależniających. Może to prowadzić do nawrotów nawet po okresach abstynencji.30

Genetyczne uwarunkowania uzależnienia

Uzależnienie jest prawdopodobnie zaburzeniem poligenicznym.31 Istnieje wiele czynników genetycznych i epigenetycznych, które wpływają na progresję uzależnienia.32 Gdy naukowcy poszukują „genów uzależnienia”, szukają w rzeczywistości różnic biologicznych, które mogą sprawić, że dana osoba jest bardziej lub mniej podatna na uzależnienie.33

Zaburzenie związane z używaniem substancji często występuje w rodzinach. Dzieje się tak, ponieważ istnieje składnik dziedziczny, co oznacza, że może być przekazywany z rodzica na dziecko za pośrednictwem genów.34 Podobnie jak większość innych chorób, zaburzenie związane z używaniem substancji jest cechą złożoną, na którą wpływają zarówno warianty wielu genów, jak i czynniki środowiskowe.35

Badania wykazują, że czynniki genetyczne odpowiadają za 40-60% podatności na zaburzenia związane z używaniem substancji.3637 Geny mogą wpływać na produkcję, funkcję i wychwyt zwrotny neuroprzekaźników, takich jak dopamina, które odgrywają kluczową rolę w układzie nagrody mózgu. Warianty tych genów mogą sprawić, że jednostki będą bardziej podatne na nagradzające efekty substancji uzależniających.38

Mechanizmy działania różnych substancji uzależniających

Różne substancje uzależniające działają poprzez odmienne mechanizmy farmakologiczne, jednak wszystkie ostatecznie wpływają na układ nagrody mózgu.39 Niezależnie od tego, że substancje uzależniające mają odrębne cele białkowe i mechanizmy działania, ostatecznie główne modyfikacje związane z uzależnieniem są wspólne dla prawie wszystkich substancji uzależniających i zbiegają się w VTA i NAc z wspólnymi ostrymi efektami funkcjonalnymi.40

Opioidy

Opioidy są substancjami, które naśladują działanie endogennych peptydów opioidowych endorfin.41 Różnią się pod względem skuteczności i powinowactwa do receptora opioidowego, który jest ich miejscem działania w układzie nagrody.42

Opioidy działają poprzez wiązanie się z receptorami opioidowymi na neuronach rozproszonych w całym układzie nerwowym i układzie odpornościowym.43 Zidentyfikowano cztery główne typy receptorów opioidowych: mi, kappa, delta i niedawno zidentyfikowany OFQ/N.44

Większość nadużywanych opioidów to prototypowe pełne agonisty receptora mi, które wiążą się z tymi receptorami, wywołując następujący zespół efektów: ulga w bólu, zmiana nastroju (często wywołująca euforię i zmniejszenie lęku), depresja-oddechowa/” title=”depresja oddechowa” class=”to-tag” data-termid=”29456″>depresja oddechowa (może spowodować śmierć w przypadku przedawkowania), zmniejszona motoryka przewodu pokarmowego (może powodować zaparcia), tłumienie kaszlu, supresja czynnika uwalniającego kortykotropinę i hormonu adrenokortykotropowego, zwężenie źrenic (mioza), nudności, wymioty, świąd (rzadziej).45

Jedną z najbardziej podstępnych cech uzależnienia od opioidów jest tendencja do nawrotu nawet po tygodniach, miesiącach lub latach po zaprzestaniu używania i ustąpieniu objawów odstawienia. Mechanizm tego typu nawrotu jest intensywnie badany. Badania na zwierzętach sugerują 3 odrębne warunki, które niezawodnie wywołują nawrót: stres, ekspozycja na warunkowe sygnały związane z wcześniejszym używaniem narkotyków, dawka wcześniej podawanej substancji lub substancji o podobnych właściwościach.46

Alkohol

Alkohol wydaje się poprawiać działanie zarówno receptorów GABAB, jak i GABAA, a przy wyższych dawkach blokuje również receptory glutaminianowe NMDA, wpływa na uwalnianie dopaminy i stymuluje receptory 5-HT3.47

Alkohol jest depresantem ośrodkowego układu nerwowego, co oznacza, że zmniejsza pobudzające sygnały mózgowe, prowadząc do większego poczucia spokoju lub relaksacji. Przy wystarczająco wysokich dawkach substancje te są również związane z problemami z poruszaniem się, znacznym upośledzeniem poznawczym i utratą pamięci.48

Długotrwałe używanie prowadzi do zmniejszenia regulacji kanałów GABA (hamujących) i zwiększenia regulacji NMDA (pobudzających).49 To wyjaśnia, dlaczego odstawienie alkoholu może być tak niebezpieczne – mózg jest w stanie nadmiernego pobudzenia bez hamującego działania alkoholu.

Stymulanty

Stymulanty, takie jak kokaina i amfetamina, zwiększają uwalnianie dopaminy w układzie nagrody, prowadząc do intensywnych uczuć przyjemności i euforii.50 Substancje te zwiększają wyładowania neuronów, prowadząc do większej uwagi, emocjonalnych „wzlotów” i energii fizycznej.51

Jednak po rozpoczęciu opuszczania organizmu przez te substancje mogą rozwinąć się negatywne efekty uboczne, ponieważ mózg może wolniej przywracać równowagę neuroprzekaźnikom, takim jak serotonina, dopamina i noradrenalina.52

Długotrwałe stosowanie stymulantów może prowadzić do utrzymujących się negatywnych skutków neurokognitywnych dotyczących uczenia się, pamięci i funkcji wykonawczych.53

Ketamina i psychodeliki

Ketamina i wcześniej PCP są dysocjacyjnymi anestetykami oszczędzającymi oddech, które również leczą przewlekły ból i ostrą depresję.54 Funkcjonują jako antagoniści receptora glutaminianowego NMDA, ale ponieważ kilka z tych receptorów jest obecnych presynaptycznie na interneuronach GABA i na neuronach glutaminianowych, blokada ketaminy powoduje zwiększoną transmisję glutaminianową, która z kolei stymuluje receptory AMPA.55

Skutki uzależnienia w mózgu

Uzależnienie prowadzi do szeregu zmian w mózgu, które wpływają na zdolność osoby do funkcjonowania, podejmowania decyzji i kontrolowania zachowań związanych z używaniem substancji.56

Zmiany w układzie nagrody

Jednym z najważniejszych skutków używania substancji uzależniających jest wpływ na szlak nagrody mózgu, głównie poprzez uwalnianie dopaminy. Ten neuroprzekaźnik jest związany z przyjemnością i wzmocnieniem.57 Wiele substancji uzależniających aktywuje szlak nagrody, prowadząc do intensywnych uczuć przyjemności i euforii, często określanych jako „haj”. Przyjemne doznanie wzmacnia pragnienie ponownego użycia substancji, przyczyniając się do rozwoju zależności.58

W miarę powtarzającego się używania substancji, mózg zmniejsza ilość produkowanej dopaminy i redukuje liczbę receptorów, które mogą odbierać sygnały.59 W rezultacie zdolność osoby do doświadczania przyjemności z naturalnie nagradzających (tj. wzmacniających) działań jest również zmniejszona.60

Utrata kontroli i zmiany w procesach decyzyjnych

Uzależnienie może również powodować problemy z koncentracją, pamięcią i uczeniem się, nie wspominając o podejmowaniu decyzji i osądzaniu.61 Osoby z zaburzeniami związanymi z używaniem substancji mogą mieć zniekształcone myślenie i zachowania. Zmiany w strukturze i funkcji mózgu są tym, co powoduje, że ludzie mają intensywne pragnienia, zmiany osobowości, nieprawidłowe ruchy i inne zachowania.62

Badania obrazowe mózgu pokazują zmiany w obszarach mózgu związanych z osądem, podejmowaniem decyzji, uczeniem się, pamięcią i kontrolą behawioralną.63 Biologiczne osłabienie obszarów mózgu odpowiedzialnych za podejmowanie decyzji wyjaśnia, dlaczego osoby uzależnione poszukują i używają substancji nawet w obliczu negatywnych konsekwencji lub wiedzy o pozytywnych wynikach, które mogą wynikać z zaprzestania używania substancji.64

Neurodegeneracja i utrzymujące się zmiany

Długotrwałe używanie substancji może powodować trwałe zmiany w gęstości kolców dendrytycznych w niektórych neuronach, a te trwałe zmiany mogą przyczyniać się do długotrwałej podatności na nawroty.65

Neuroadaptacje, które zachodzą podczas długotrwałego używania substancji, nie tylko upośledzają funkcje mózgu, ale również przyspieszają przejście od kontrolowanego do kompulsywnego używania.66 Te zmiany mogą utrzymywać się długo po zaprzestaniu używania substancji, przyczyniając się do podatności na nawroty i okresowe głody nawet po długich okresach abstynencji.67

Rola plastyczności mózgu w uzależnieniu i zdrowieniu

Plastyczność mózgu jest fascynującą zdolnością pozwalającą na odpowiednie modyfikacje aktywności neuronalnej w odpowiedzi na nowe doświadczenia i bodźce środowiskowe.68 Ta sama plasyczność neuronalna, która umożliwia człowiekowi uczenie się i adaptację, może być wykorzystana przez substancje uzależniające do głębokich zmian w obwodach mózgowych.69

Plastyczność w procesie uzależnienia

Przewlekłe używanie alkoholu i narkotyków może indukować neuroplastyczność, czyli zdolność mózgu do reorganizacji poprzez tworzenie nowych połączeń neuronalnych. Może to prowadzić do zmian w strukturze mózgu, czyniąc go bardziej podatnym na uzależnienie.70

Trwałe modyfikacje w ekspresji genów są również epigenetyczne, ponieważ są dziedziczone w krótkim terminie (przez mitozę), a w niektórych przypadkach transgeneracyjne, zapewniając tym samym potencjalny mechanizm przekazywania wpływów środowiskowych z rodziców na potomstwo.71

Niektóre zmiany epigenetyczne są bardzo stabilne i w ten sposób pośredniczą zarówno w podatności na uzależnienie od narkotyków, jak i w wywołanych przez narkotyki zmianach w mózgu, które leżą u podstaw rozwoju uzależnienia.72

Plastyczność w procesie zdrowienia

Zdolność neuroplastyczności umożliwia jednak również mózgowi ponowne okablowanie się w bardziej normalny sposób po zaprzestaniu używania narkotyków.73 W trakcie zdrowienia z uzależnienia mózg się „odblokowuje”; obszary, które utraciły łączność, szczególnie kora przedczołowa, odzyskują swoją normalną moc neuronalną.74 Stopniowo przywracana jest funkcja wykonawcza, co pozwala odzyskać zdolność do sprawowania kontroli nad impulsami i uczuciami głodu.75

Istnieją dowody na to, że mózg faktycznie regeneruje się w czasie. Badania nad tym, jak możemy konkretnie poprawić regenerację mózgu po używaniu substancji, są wciąż w toku, ale pojawiająca się literatura sugeruje, że ćwiczenia fizyczne mogą być korzystne w ten sposób poprzez poprawę neuroplastyczności, która jest odpornością mózgu na adaptację do uszkodzeń i dostosowanie szlaków neuronalnych do normalnego funkcjonowania po uszkodzeniu.76

Implikacje terapeutyczne

Zrozumienie neurobiologicznych mechanizmów uzależnienia ma kluczowe znaczenie dla opracowania skutecznych metod leczenia. Badania pokazują, że terapie oparte na lekach są najskuteczniejszą metodą leczenia.77

Farmakoterapia

Leki są używane do kontrolowania głodu, łagodzenia objawów odstawienia i zapobiegania nawrotom.78 Dla zaburzeń używania opioidów dostępne są leki takie jak buprenorfina i metadon, które działają jako agoniści opioidowe. Leki te zmniejszają głód i objawy odstawienia poprzez zajmowanie i aktywowanie receptorów opioidowych, bez wywoływania euforii. Antagonista opioidowy naltrekson działa poprzez blokowanie efektów opioidów.79

Leki, które naśladują zwiększoną dopaminę w mózgu, jednocześnie próbując kontrolować ilość uwalnianej dopaminy i zmniejszyć intensywność reakcji przyjemności w celu zminimalizowania głodu i wygaszenia skojarzenia z nauką, również stanowią obiecujące podejście.80 Utrzymując niższy poziom dopaminy w mózgu, receptory dopaminowe mogą zacząć wracać do wyższych, normalnych poziomów, co zmniejsza objawy impulsywności i anhedonii.81

Psychoterapia i podejścia holistyczne

Psychoterapia może pomóc osobom z zaburzeniami związanymi z używaniem substancji lepiej zrozumieć swoje zachowanie i motywacje, rozwinąć wyższą samoocenę, radzić sobie ze stresem i rozwiązywać inne problemy psychiatryczne.82

Istnieją skuteczne metody leczenia zaburzeń związanych z używaniem substancji.83 Ponieważ zaburzenia te wpływają na wiele aspektów życia człowieka, często wymagane są różne rodzaje leczenia. Dla większości, kombinacja leków i terapii indywidualnej lub grupowej jest najbardziej skuteczna.84

Podejścia terapeutyczne uwzględniające konkretną sytuację danej osoby i wszelkie współistniejące problemy medyczne, psychiatryczne i społeczne są optymalne dla trwałego powrotu do zdrowia.85

Znaczenie leczenia zaburzeń współistniejących

Istnieje silny związek między uzależnieniem a zaburzeniami zdrowia psychicznego, takimi jak depresja, zespół stresu pourazowego (PTSD) i zaburzenia dwubiegunowe.86 Wiele osób doświadcza zaburzeń związanych z używaniem substancji wraz z innym zaburzeniem psychiatrycznym. Inne zaburzenie psychiatryczne może, ale nie musi koniecznie, poprzedzać inne zaburzenie psychiatryczne. Możliwe jest również, że używanie substancji może wywołać lub pogorszyć inne zaburzenie psychiatryczne.87

Najlepszą terapią dla współwystępujących zaburzeń jest zintegrowana interwencja, kiedy osoba otrzymuje opiekę zarówno z powodu zdiagnozowanej choroby psychicznej, jak i zaburzenia związanego z używaniem substancji. Myślenie, że „nie mogę leczyć twojej depresji, ponieważ również pijesz”, jest przestarzałe – obecne podejście wymaga zajęcia się obydwoma problemami.88

Przyszłe kierunki badań

Badania nad neurobiologią uzależnienia nadal się rozwijają, oferując nowe perspektywy dla rozwoju terapii. Każdy nowo odkryty gen związany z uzależnieniem jest potencjalnym celem dla leków. Badacze mogą skupić się na produkcie genu (białku) i opracować lek modyfikujący jego aktywność. Celem jest korekcja sygnałów lub szlaków i przywrócenie prawidłowego funkcjonowania mózgu.89

Głębsze zrozumienie procesu zdrowienia niewątpliwie wpłynie na rozwój bardziej skutecznych programów leczenia i wsparcia.90 W miarę ewolucji naszego zrozumienia neurobiologicznych podstaw uzależnienia, będą również ewoluować nasze podejścia do leczenia, potencjalnie prowadząc do bardziej ukierunkowanych interwencji, które zajmują się konkretnymi obwodami neuronowymi zakłócanymi w uzależnieniu.91

Godna uwagi jest charakteryzacja roli gleju i macierzy pozakomórkowej (ECM) w wywołanej przez narkotyki plastyczności synaptycznej, która jest ekscytującym wyłaniającym się polem badań nad uzależnieniem od narkotyków, ponieważ wiąże się z obiecującymi nowymi możliwościami terapeutycznymi.92

Niezwykła plastyczność mózgu – jego zdolność do reorganizacji i adaptacji – oferuje nadzieję nawet w obliczu uporczywych wyzwań związanych z uzależnieniem.93 Ta plastyczność umożliwia rewizję obwodów poprzez wzmacnianie alternatywnych ścieżek, co może być kluczem do skutecznego powrotu do zdrowia i długoterminowej abstynencji.

Kolejne rozdziały

Zapraszamy do dalszego czytania naszego leksykonu.

Wybierz kolejny rozdział z menu poniżej, aby otworzyć nową podstronę kompedium wiedzy i uzyskać szczegółowe informację o leku, substancji lub chorobie.

  1. 09.04.2026
  2. www.leksykon.com.pl

Materiały źródłowe

  • #1 Pathogenesis of addiction, treatment at the clinic || Dr Vorobjev
    https://drvorobjev.com/en/pathogenesis-of-addiction/
    Contemporary medicine defines addiction as a chronic progressive mental illness with a tendency to somatization. […] To understand the changes that arise in addicts and to determine the type of medical assistance, one needs to clearly grasp the underlying biological mechanisms of addiction. […] As contemporary scientific facts confirm, neurophysiological mechanisms of the development of addiction to psychoactive substances take place in the mesolimbic structures of the brain, in the reward system. […] The influence of psychoactive substances on these parts of the brain leads to the intense secretion of neuromediators, primarily dopamine, causing the extreme triggering of the reward system with positive emotional reactions. […] After the frequent taking of psychoactive substances, the associative relationship grows stronger and leads to an ever-more pronounced neurochemical reaction and behavior change.
  • #2 Drug addiction: from bench to bedside | Translational Psychiatry
    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-021-01542-0
    Drug addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing disease that results from the prolonged effects of drugs on the brain. […] The neurobiological circuits and mechanisms that support compulsive seeking and consumption of drugs with addictive potential are partially known. […] They include neuronal and synaptic plasticity and modifications in gene expression, in part through epigenetic mechanisms. […] Notably, drug-induced neuronal modifications can also occur in non-pathological processes, underlying the fact that drugs of abuse hijack normal adaptive changes in the brain. […] Most of the modifications that have been shown to be involved in a state of addiction (modified gene transcription, epigenetics, neuronal plasticity and neurotrophic mechanisms) are also associated with physiological forms of behavioural memory in murine model such as spatial memory, fear conditioning and operant conditioning.
  • #3 Pathogenesis of addiction, treatment at the clinic || Dr Vorobjev
    https://drvorobjev.com/en/pathogenesis-of-addiction/
    Contemporary medicine defines addiction as a chronic progressive mental illness with a tendency to somatization. […] To understand the changes that arise in addicts and to determine the type of medical assistance, one needs to clearly grasp the underlying biological mechanisms of addiction. […] As contemporary scientific facts confirm, neurophysiological mechanisms of the development of addiction to psychoactive substances take place in the mesolimbic structures of the brain, in the reward system. […] The influence of psychoactive substances on these parts of the brain leads to the intense secretion of neuromediators, primarily dopamine, causing the extreme triggering of the reward system with positive emotional reactions. […] After the frequent taking of psychoactive substances, the associative relationship grows stronger and leads to an ever-more pronounced neurochemical reaction and behavior change.
  • #4 Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction: Drugs and the Brain | NIDA
    https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/drugs-brain
    Drugs interfere with the way neurons send, receive, and process signals via neurotransmitters. Some drugs, such as marijuana and heroin, can activate neurons because their chemical structure mimics that of a natural neurotransmitter in the body. This allows the drugs to attach onto and activate the neurons. Although these drugs mimic the brains own chemicals, they dont activate neurons in the same way as a natural neurotransmitter, and they lead to abnormal messages being sent through the network. […] Other drugs, such as amphetamine or cocaine, can cause the neurons to release abnormally large amounts of natural neurotransmitters or prevent the normal recycling of these brain chemicals by interfering with transporters. This too amplifies or disrupts the normal communication between neurons.
  • #5 The Brain in Recovery – Recovery Research Institute
    https://www.recoveryanswers.org/recovery-101/brain-in-recovery/
    The neuroscience of addiction recovery is an exciting and emerging area of research. […] Just as cardiovascular disease damages the heart and alters its functioning, addiction changes the brain and impairs the way it works. […] Ultimately, much like other chronic diseases, addiction is preventable and treatable, but it does change one’s biology and can last a lifetime if it goes untreated. […] The brain experiences pleasure from many different things we like to do in life; eating dessert, having a sexual encounter, playing a video game, etc. […] However, dopamine is also released into the nucleus accumbens when using substances like nicotine, alcohol, and heroin. […] Over time, the brain becomes more resistant to dopamine (an effect known as tolerance) to try and account for the excess that is produced when using drugs, and this lessened effect means that the drugs will become less rewarding as craving increases.
  • #6 Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction: Drugs and the Brain | NIDA
    https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/drugs-brain
    Drugs can alter important brain areas that are necessary for life-sustaining functions and can drive the compulsive drug use that marks addiction. […] Some drugs like opioids also disrupt other parts of the brain, such as the brain stem, which controls basic functions critical to life, including heart rate, breathing, and sleeping. This interference explains why overdoses can cause depressed breathing and death. […] Just as drugs produce intense euphoria, they also produce much larger surges of dopamine, powerfully reinforcing the connection between consumption of the drug, the resulting pleasure, and all the external cues linked to the experience. Large surges of dopamine teach the brain to seek drugs at the expense of other, healthier goals and activities. […] For the brain, the difference between normal rewards and drug rewards can be likened to the difference between someone whispering into your ear and someone shouting into a microphone. Just as we turn down the volume on a radio that is too loud, the brain of someone who misuses drugs adjusts by producing fewer neurotransmitters in the reward circuit, or by reducing the number of receptors that can receive signals. As a result, the person’s ability to experience pleasure from naturally rewarding (i.e., reinforcing) activities is also reduced.
  • #7 Drug addiction: from bench to bedside | Translational Psychiatry
    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-021-01542-0
    The circuit at the centre of the disease is the mesolimbic pathway, also referred as the reward pathway. […] Through different initial mechanisms, drugs of abuse increase the release of dopamine in the NAc from the VTA. […] Regardless that drugs of abuse have distinct protein targets and mechanisms of action, in the end, the main addiction-related modifications are common to nearly all drugs of abuse and converge on the VTA and NAc with common acute functional effects. […] The physiological function of this response is to facilitate the motivation for basic biological goal-directed behaviours as survival, social interaction and reproduction. […] By artificially causing a build-up of dopamine in the NAc, drugs of abuse generate an artificial reward effect. […] As all drugs of abuse increase dopaminergic transmission to the NAc after acute administration, they also produce shared modifications in the mesolimbic system after chronic exposure.
  • #8 Azthena logo with the word Azthena
    https://www.news-medical.net/whitepaper/20190311/The-Biological-Mechanisms-Behind-Addiction.aspx
    The significant feature of drug addiction is the inability to discontinue the use of drugs in spite of clear evidence of their harmful effects. […] The brain circuits involved in addiction have been characterized in preclinical studies and in human imaging studies. […] The reward circuit (indicated in green) is a dopamine pathway from the ventral tegmental area to the nucleus accumbens (NAcc, also known as ventral striatum), which subsequently outflows through the ventral pallidum (VP). […] This balance is disrupted in addiction, and the motivation to use drugs become stronger, drug memories become more dominant, and the „top-down” mechanisms become weaker such that drug use cannot be controlled, leading to a „GO” take drugs state. […] Something must be different in the addicts brain as not everyone who uses drug becomes addicted.
  • #9 Azthena logo with the word Azthena
    https://www.news-medical.net/whitepaper/20190311/The-Biological-Mechanisms-Behind-Addiction.aspx
    The significant feature of drug addiction is the inability to discontinue the use of drugs in spite of clear evidence of their harmful effects. […] The brain circuits involved in addiction have been characterized in preclinical studies and in human imaging studies. […] The reward circuit (indicated in green) is a dopamine pathway from the ventral tegmental area to the nucleus accumbens (NAcc, also known as ventral striatum), which subsequently outflows through the ventral pallidum (VP). […] This balance is disrupted in addiction, and the motivation to use drugs become stronger, drug memories become more dominant, and the „top-down” mechanisms become weaker such that drug use cannot be controlled, leading to a „GO” take drugs state. […] Something must be different in the addicts brain as not everyone who uses drug becomes addicted.
  • #10 Pathogenesis of addiction, treatment at the clinic || Dr Vorobjev
    https://drvorobjev.com/en/pathogenesis-of-addiction/
    Contemporary medicine defines addiction as a chronic progressive mental illness with a tendency to somatization. […] To understand the changes that arise in addicts and to determine the type of medical assistance, one needs to clearly grasp the underlying biological mechanisms of addiction. […] As contemporary scientific facts confirm, neurophysiological mechanisms of the development of addiction to psychoactive substances take place in the mesolimbic structures of the brain, in the reward system. […] The influence of psychoactive substances on these parts of the brain leads to the intense secretion of neuromediators, primarily dopamine, causing the extreme triggering of the reward system with positive emotional reactions. […] After the frequent taking of psychoactive substances, the associative relationship grows stronger and leads to an ever-more pronounced neurochemical reaction and behavior change.
  • #11 Pathogenesis of addiction, treatment at the clinic || Dr Vorobjev
    https://drvorobjev.com/en/pathogenesis-of-addiction/
    Contemporary medicine defines addiction as a chronic progressive mental illness with a tendency to somatization. […] To understand the changes that arise in addicts and to determine the type of medical assistance, one needs to clearly grasp the underlying biological mechanisms of addiction. […] As contemporary scientific facts confirm, neurophysiological mechanisms of the development of addiction to psychoactive substances take place in the mesolimbic structures of the brain, in the reward system. […] The influence of psychoactive substances on these parts of the brain leads to the intense secretion of neuromediators, primarily dopamine, causing the extreme triggering of the reward system with positive emotional reactions. […] After the frequent taking of psychoactive substances, the associative relationship grows stronger and leads to an ever-more pronounced neurochemical reaction and behavior change.
  • #12 Drug addiction: from bench to bedside | Translational Psychiatry
    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-021-01542-0
    The hypofunction of dopaminergic system hypothesis is self-fulfilling in that research work has principally focused on dopamine to the exclusion of other neurotransmitters. […] The progression of drug addiction begins with the first exposure, mostly when the drug is taken voluntarily for its recreational and hedonic effect, and progressively consolidates during repeated but still controlled drug use. […] While administration intensifies along with loss of control over drug intake, drug use becomes habitual and compulsive in vulnerable individuals. […] Brain plasticity is a fascinating capacity allowing appropriate modification of the neural activity in response to new experiences and environmental stimuli. […] Hence, it is appealing to hypothesise that drugs of abuse cause long-term alterations on behaviour by changing synaptic plasticity in key brain circuits.
  • #13 Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction: Drugs and the Brain | NIDA
    https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/drugs-brain
    Drugs interfere with the way neurons send, receive, and process signals via neurotransmitters. Some drugs, such as marijuana and heroin, can activate neurons because their chemical structure mimics that of a natural neurotransmitter in the body. This allows the drugs to attach onto and activate the neurons. Although these drugs mimic the brains own chemicals, they dont activate neurons in the same way as a natural neurotransmitter, and they lead to abnormal messages being sent through the network. […] Other drugs, such as amphetamine or cocaine, can cause the neurons to release abnormally large amounts of natural neurotransmitters or prevent the normal recycling of these brain chemicals by interfering with transporters. This too amplifies or disrupts the normal communication between neurons.
  • #14 Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction: Drugs and the Brain | NIDA
    https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/drugs-brain
    Drugs interfere with the way neurons send, receive, and process signals via neurotransmitters. Some drugs, such as marijuana and heroin, can activate neurons because their chemical structure mimics that of a natural neurotransmitter in the body. This allows the drugs to attach onto and activate the neurons. Although these drugs mimic the brains own chemicals, they dont activate neurons in the same way as a natural neurotransmitter, and they lead to abnormal messages being sent through the network. […] Other drugs, such as amphetamine or cocaine, can cause the neurons to release abnormally large amounts of natural neurotransmitters or prevent the normal recycling of these brain chemicals by interfering with transporters. This too amplifies or disrupts the normal communication between neurons.
  • #15 Pathogenesis of addiction, treatment at the clinic || Dr Vorobjev
    https://drvorobjev.com/en/pathogenesis-of-addiction/
    Retaking of psychoactive substances leads to spending of reserves of neuromediators, especially dopamine. […] The lack of dopamine in the brain leads to a desire for drugs and relapse. […] Frequent and long-term consumption of psychoactive substances leads to disturbances in the operation of neuromediators. […] The identity of the basic mechanisms for the development of addiction and the clinical picture of different types of addictive disorders points to the essential similarity of biological mechanisms of all forms of addiction. […] Given the close functional relationship of all neurochemical processes in the brain, the regulation of the dopamine system functions can be achieved by directly influencing various links and regulators of dopamine, and through other neuromediators and neuromodulators.
  • #16 Pathogenesis of addiction, treatment at the clinic || Dr Vorobjev
    https://drvorobjev.com/en/pathogenesis-of-addiction/
    Retaking of psychoactive substances leads to spending of reserves of neuromediators, especially dopamine. […] The lack of dopamine in the brain leads to a desire for drugs and relapse. […] Frequent and long-term consumption of psychoactive substances leads to disturbances in the operation of neuromediators. […] The identity of the basic mechanisms for the development of addiction and the clinical picture of different types of addictive disorders points to the essential similarity of biological mechanisms of all forms of addiction. […] Given the close functional relationship of all neurochemical processes in the brain, the regulation of the dopamine system functions can be achieved by directly influencing various links and regulators of dopamine, and through other neuromediators and neuromodulators.
  • #17 Pathogenesis of addiction, treatment at the clinic || Dr Vorobjev
    https://drvorobjev.com/en/pathogenesis-of-addiction/
    Retaking of psychoactive substances leads to spending of reserves of neuromediators, especially dopamine. […] The lack of dopamine in the brain leads to a desire for drugs and relapse. […] Frequent and long-term consumption of psychoactive substances leads to disturbances in the operation of neuromediators. […] The identity of the basic mechanisms for the development of addiction and the clinical picture of different types of addictive disorders points to the essential similarity of biological mechanisms of all forms of addiction. […] Given the close functional relationship of all neurochemical processes in the brain, the regulation of the dopamine system functions can be achieved by directly influencing various links and regulators of dopamine, and through other neuromediators and neuromodulators.
  • #18 Drug addiction: from bench to bedside | Translational Psychiatry
    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-021-01542-0
    Drugs of abuse such as cocaine induce specific synaptic plasticity in the mesolimbic circuitry. […] Indeed, it has been extensively shown that the AMPA/NMDA ratio is increased in VTA dopamine neurons after one dose of cocaine and that some glutamate AMPA receptor 2 (GluA2)-containing AMPA receptors (AMPARs) are exchanged for GluA2-lacking ones. […] The early loss of inhibitory control combined with potentiation of glutamatergic synapses on dopaminergic neurons might represent adaptations that increase vulnerability to addiction. […] Chronic exposure to addictive drugs induces specific synaptic changes that are different from those of the VTA, including a decrease of the AMPA/NMDA ratio as some AMPARs are endocytosed. […] Highlighting the importance of temporal aspects, studies of withdrawal period after chronic administration of cocaine, showed that synaptic AMPAR levels increase during the first week of withdrawal and persist elevated for weeks.
  • #19 Drug addiction: from bench to bedside | Translational Psychiatry
    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-021-01542-0
    Drugs of abuse such as cocaine induce specific synaptic plasticity in the mesolimbic circuitry. […] Indeed, it has been extensively shown that the AMPA/NMDA ratio is increased in VTA dopamine neurons after one dose of cocaine and that some glutamate AMPA receptor 2 (GluA2)-containing AMPA receptors (AMPARs) are exchanged for GluA2-lacking ones. […] The early loss of inhibitory control combined with potentiation of glutamatergic synapses on dopaminergic neurons might represent adaptations that increase vulnerability to addiction. […] Chronic exposure to addictive drugs induces specific synaptic changes that are different from those of the VTA, including a decrease of the AMPA/NMDA ratio as some AMPARs are endocytosed. […] Highlighting the importance of temporal aspects, studies of withdrawal period after chronic administration of cocaine, showed that synaptic AMPAR levels increase during the first week of withdrawal and persist elevated for weeks.
  • #20 Drug addiction (substance use disorder) – Symptoms and causes – Mayo Clinic
    https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/drug-addiction/symptoms-causes/syc-20365112
    Drug addiction, also called substance use disorder, is a disease that affects a person’s brain and behavior and leads to an inability to control the use of a legal or illegal drug or medicine. […] The risk of addiction and how fast you become addicted varies by drug. Some drugs, such as opioid painkillers, have a higher risk and cause addiction more quickly than others. […] Physical addiction appears to occur when repeated use of a drug changes the way your brain feels pleasure. The addicting drug causes physical changes to some nerve cells (neurons) in your brain. Neurons use chemicals called neurotransmitters to communicate. These changes can remain long after you stop using the drug.
  • #21 Drug addiction (substance use disorder) – Symptoms and causes – Mayo Clinic
    https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/drug-addiction/symptoms-causes/syc-20365112
    Drug addiction, also called substance use disorder, is a disease that affects a person’s brain and behavior and leads to an inability to control the use of a legal or illegal drug or medicine. […] The risk of addiction and how fast you become addicted varies by drug. Some drugs, such as opioid painkillers, have a higher risk and cause addiction more quickly than others. […] Physical addiction appears to occur when repeated use of a drug changes the way your brain feels pleasure. The addicting drug causes physical changes to some nerve cells (neurons) in your brain. Neurons use chemicals called neurotransmitters to communicate. These changes can remain long after you stop using the drug.
  • #22 The Brain in Recovery – Recovery Research Institute
    https://www.recoveryanswers.org/recovery-101/brain-in-recovery/
    The neuroscience of addiction recovery is an exciting and emerging area of research. […] Just as cardiovascular disease damages the heart and alters its functioning, addiction changes the brain and impairs the way it works. […] Ultimately, much like other chronic diseases, addiction is preventable and treatable, but it does change one’s biology and can last a lifetime if it goes untreated. […] The brain experiences pleasure from many different things we like to do in life; eating dessert, having a sexual encounter, playing a video game, etc. […] However, dopamine is also released into the nucleus accumbens when using substances like nicotine, alcohol, and heroin. […] Over time, the brain becomes more resistant to dopamine (an effect known as tolerance) to try and account for the excess that is produced when using drugs, and this lessened effect means that the drugs will become less rewarding as craving increases.
  • #23 The Brain in Recovery – Recovery Research Institute
    https://www.recoveryanswers.org/recovery-101/brain-in-recovery/
    Individuals who develop a substance use disorder will find that over time the substance will no longer give them the same amount of pleasure as before, and they subsequently have to take larger amounts of the substance more frequently to feel an effect. […] The neuroscience of addiction recovery is an exciting and emerging area of research. […] There is evidence that the brain does recover over time; this image below shows the brain of a healthy control on the left, and a patient in recovery from methamphetamine use disorder on the right. […] What is clear is that alcohol and cannabis do have some neurotoxic effects and that, at least to some degree, this damage is able to be reversed in a similar way that the brain is able to recover from using other substances. […] Research on how we can specifically improve brain recovery from substance use is still ongoing as well, but emerging literature suggests that physical exercise could be beneficial in this way by improving neuroplasticity, which is the resiliency of the brain to adapt to harm and adjust neural pathways to allow for normal functioning after being damaged.
  • #24 How alcohol and drugs rewire the brain | News
    https://news.llu.edu/health-wellness/how-alcohol-and-drugs-rewire-brain
    Chronic use of alcohol and drugs can induce neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections. This can lead to changes in brain structure, making it more susceptible to addiction. […] With repeated exposure, the brain may develop tolerance, requiring higher doses to achieve the same effects. This tolerance drives individuals to consume larger quantities, increasing the risk of addiction and other negative outcomes. […] Continued use of alcohol and drugs can lead to physical and psychological dependence, where the brain adapts to the presence of the substance and requires it to function normally. Withdrawal symptoms may occur when substance use is reduced or discontinued, further reinforcing the cycle of addiction. […] The link between trauma and addiction is complex. Trauma can lead individuals to use substances as a coping mechanism, self-medicating to relieve distressing emotions and memories.
  • #25
    https://step2.medbullets.com/psychiatry/120661/substance-intoxication-and-withdrawal
    most addictive drugs act on the dopamine mesolimbic-reward pathway […] mu receptor agonist […] opioid withdrawal is NOT fatal – it is just unpleasant […] clonidine 2 agonist that decreases NE and sympathetic output making autonomic symptoms less intense […] methadone typically oral […] long-acting IV opiate used for heroin detoxification or long-term maintenance […] suboxone (buprenorphine + naloxone) long-acting oral administration with fewer withdrawal symptoms than methadone […] naltrexone opioid antagonist used to assist in blocking cravings for both opioids (and alcohol) […] alcohol is a depressant – increases GABAa channel opening […] long term use leads to downregulation of GABA channels (inhibitory) and upregulation of NMDA (excitatory)
  • #26 Substance-related and addictive disorders – Knowledge @ AMBOSS
    https://www.amboss.com/us/knowledge/substance-related-and-addictive-disorders/
    Treatment options depend on the respective substance being used (e.g., Management of alcohol withdrawal and Opioid withdrawal) and patient preferences. […] Forced treatment is not recommended as it is often followed by relapse and a loss of trust in treatment services and providers. […] Abrupt cessation of chronic GHB use can precipitate a potentially fatal withdrawal syndrome. […] The clinical features of GHB withdrawal are similar to those of alcohol withdrawal and benzodiazepine withdrawal.
  • #27
    https://www.jci.org/articles/view/172883
    Stress has long been associated with substance misuse and substance use disorders (SUDs). […] The past two decades have seen a surge in research aimed at understanding the underlying mechanisms driving this association. […] This Review introduces a multilevel adaptive stress response framework, encompassing a stress baseline, acute reaction, and recovery with return-to-homeostasis phase that occurs at varying response times and across domains of analysis. […] It also discusses evidence showing the disruption of this adaptive stress response in the context of chronic and repeated stressors, trauma, adverse social and drug-related environments, as well as with acute and chronic drug misuse and with drug withdrawal and abstinence sequelae. […] Subjective, cognitive, peripheral, and neurobiological disruptions in the adaptive stress response phases and their link to inflexible, maladaptive coping; increased craving; relapse risk; and maintenance of drug intake are also presented.
  • #28
    https://www.jci.org/articles/view/172883
    Stress has long been associated with substance misuse and substance use disorders (SUDs). […] The past two decades have seen a surge in research aimed at understanding the underlying mechanisms driving this association. […] This Review introduces a multilevel adaptive stress response framework, encompassing a stress baseline, acute reaction, and recovery with return-to-homeostasis phase that occurs at varying response times and across domains of analysis. […] It also discusses evidence showing the disruption of this adaptive stress response in the context of chronic and repeated stressors, trauma, adverse social and drug-related environments, as well as with acute and chronic drug misuse and with drug withdrawal and abstinence sequelae. […] Subjective, cognitive, peripheral, and neurobiological disruptions in the adaptive stress response phases and their link to inflexible, maladaptive coping; increased craving; relapse risk; and maintenance of drug intake are also presented.
  • #29 18 Psychological Causes of Addiction  – Olympic Behavioral Health
    https://olympicbehavioralhealth.com/rehab-blog/psychological-addiction-causes/
    A powerful combination of physiological and psychological factors fuels addiction. Physically, addictive substances or activities hijack the brains reward system, flooding it with dopamine and creating a solid association with pleasure. […] Over time, the brain adapts to this surge by decreasing its dopamine production, leading to tolerance and withdrawal symptoms. This physiological dependence creates a powerful drive to seek out the addictive substance or activity despite adverse consequences. […] Understanding this complex interplay between physiological and psychological factors is crucial for developing effective treatment plans to combat addiction. […] Chronic stress can push individuals towards addiction in several ways: […] When stressed, the body releases stress hormones like cortisol. These hormones can disrupt the brains reward system, making people more likely to seek out pleasurable activities or substances to compensate for the negative feelings associated with stress.
  • #30 18 Psychological Causes of Addiction  – Olympic Behavioral Health
    https://olympicbehavioralhealth.com/rehab-blog/psychological-addiction-causes/
    Chronic stress can weaken impulse control, making it difficult to resist urges to use addictive substances. This can lead to relapses even after periods of abstinence. […] Addiction is a complex disease with both environmental and genetic components. While the environment plays a significant role, genetic predispositions can make some individuals more vulnerable to developing addictions.
  • #31 Substance Use Disorders – Psychiatric Disorders – Merck Manual Professional Edition
    https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/psychiatric-disorders/substance-related-disorders/substance-use-disorders
    A substantial portion of these drugs go unused but may remain in the home, representing a significant source for children, adolescents, and adults who wish to use them for nonmedical purposes. […] Addiction is likely a polygenic disorder. […] There are a number of genetic and epigenetic factors that impact addiction progression. […] Cultural and social factors are very important in initiating and maintaining (or relapsing to) substance use. […] The severity of the substance use disorder is determined by the number of symptoms. […] With increasing evidence and greater understanding of the biologic processes underlying compulsive drug-taking, substance use disorders have become much more firmly established as medical illnesses. […] Focus on accurate identification of patients with substance use disorders and referral for specialty treatment will help greatly in reducing individual consequences as well as societal impact.
  • #32 Substance Use Disorders – Psychiatric Disorders – Merck Manual Professional Edition
    https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/psychiatric-disorders/substance-related-disorders/substance-use-disorders
    A substantial portion of these drugs go unused but may remain in the home, representing a significant source for children, adolescents, and adults who wish to use them for nonmedical purposes. […] Addiction is likely a polygenic disorder. […] There are a number of genetic and epigenetic factors that impact addiction progression. […] Cultural and social factors are very important in initiating and maintaining (or relapsing to) substance use. […] The severity of the substance use disorder is determined by the number of symptoms. […] With increasing evidence and greater understanding of the biologic processes underlying compulsive drug-taking, substance use disorders have become much more firmly established as medical illnesses. […] Focus on accurate identification of patients with substance use disorders and referral for specialty treatment will help greatly in reducing individual consequences as well as societal impact.
  • #33 Genes and Addiction
    https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/genes/
    When scientists look for „addiction genes,” what they are really looking for are biological differences that may make a person more or less vulnerable to addiction. […] Substance use disorder often runs in families. Thats because there is an inherited component, meaning it can pass from parent to child by way of genes. […] Like most other diseases, substance use disorder is a complex trait. Its influenced by variations in multiple genes, plus factors from the environment. […] While finding the precise genetic cause is tricky, multiple lines of research do show that genes influence substance use. From careful studies, scientists estimate a persons genetics account for 40-60 percent of their risk. […] Finding the genes involved in addiction is a good first step in finding solutions. Understanding how genes cause biological differences can lead to improved treatments for substance use disorder. […] Each new addiction-related gene discovered is a potential drug target. Researchers can focus on the gene product (protein) and develop a drug to modify its activity. The goal is to correct signals or pathways and restore proper brain function.
  • #34 Genes and Addiction
    https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/genes/
    When scientists look for „addiction genes,” what they are really looking for are biological differences that may make a person more or less vulnerable to addiction. […] Substance use disorder often runs in families. Thats because there is an inherited component, meaning it can pass from parent to child by way of genes. […] Like most other diseases, substance use disorder is a complex trait. Its influenced by variations in multiple genes, plus factors from the environment. […] While finding the precise genetic cause is tricky, multiple lines of research do show that genes influence substance use. From careful studies, scientists estimate a persons genetics account for 40-60 percent of their risk. […] Finding the genes involved in addiction is a good first step in finding solutions. Understanding how genes cause biological differences can lead to improved treatments for substance use disorder. […] Each new addiction-related gene discovered is a potential drug target. Researchers can focus on the gene product (protein) and develop a drug to modify its activity. The goal is to correct signals or pathways and restore proper brain function.
  • #35 Genes and Addiction
    https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/genes/
    When scientists look for „addiction genes,” what they are really looking for are biological differences that may make a person more or less vulnerable to addiction. […] Substance use disorder often runs in families. Thats because there is an inherited component, meaning it can pass from parent to child by way of genes. […] Like most other diseases, substance use disorder is a complex trait. Its influenced by variations in multiple genes, plus factors from the environment. […] While finding the precise genetic cause is tricky, multiple lines of research do show that genes influence substance use. From careful studies, scientists estimate a persons genetics account for 40-60 percent of their risk. […] Finding the genes involved in addiction is a good first step in finding solutions. Understanding how genes cause biological differences can lead to improved treatments for substance use disorder. […] Each new addiction-related gene discovered is a potential drug target. Researchers can focus on the gene product (protein) and develop a drug to modify its activity. The goal is to correct signals or pathways and restore proper brain function.
  • #36 Genes and Addiction
    https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/genes/
    When scientists look for „addiction genes,” what they are really looking for are biological differences that may make a person more or less vulnerable to addiction. […] Substance use disorder often runs in families. Thats because there is an inherited component, meaning it can pass from parent to child by way of genes. […] Like most other diseases, substance use disorder is a complex trait. Its influenced by variations in multiple genes, plus factors from the environment. […] While finding the precise genetic cause is tricky, multiple lines of research do show that genes influence substance use. From careful studies, scientists estimate a persons genetics account for 40-60 percent of their risk. […] Finding the genes involved in addiction is a good first step in finding solutions. Understanding how genes cause biological differences can lead to improved treatments for substance use disorder. […] Each new addiction-related gene discovered is a potential drug target. Researchers can focus on the gene product (protein) and develop a drug to modify its activity. The goal is to correct signals or pathways and restore proper brain function.
  • #37 Addiction: What It Is, Causes, Symptoms, Types & Treatment
    https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/6407-addiction
    Over time, the substances or activities change your brain chemistry, and you become desensitized to their effects. You then need more to produce the same effect. […] A significant part of how addiction develops is through changes in your brain chemistry. […] For some substances, such as opioids, the withdrawal symptoms are so severe that they create significant motivation to continue using them. […] Studies show that genetic factors are responsible for 40% to 60% of the vulnerability to any SUD. […] There’s a strong link between addiction and mental health conditions, such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and bipolar disorder. […] Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) also play a role. ACEs are stressful or traumatic events during childhood. ACEs are strongly related to the development of a wide range of health problems throughout a person’s lifespan, including addiction.
  • #38 18 Psychological Causes of Addiction  – Olympic Behavioral Health
    https://olympicbehavioralhealth.com/rehab-blog/psychological-addiction-causes/
    Chronic emotional pain can disrupt the brains reward system, making it less responsive to natural rewards like social interaction or hobbies. Addictive substances can hijack this system, producing artificial feelings of pleasure, which the individual may seek repeatedly. […] Trauma survivors often experience intense negative emotions like anxiety, depression, flashbacks, and nightmares. They may turn to substances like alcohol or drugs to numb these emotions and find temporary relief. […] Severe trauma, especially in childhood, can disrupt the development of the brains reward system, making individuals more susceptible to the rewarding effects of addictive substances. […] Genes can influence the production, function, and reuptake of neurotransmitters like dopamine, which play a crucial role in the brains reward system. Variations in these genes might make individuals more susceptible to the rewarding effects of addictive substances.
  • #39 DSM 5 Criteria for Substance Use Disorders
    https://www.verywellmind.com/dsm-5-criteria-for-substance-use-disorders-21926
    The activation of the brains reward system is central to problems arising from drug use. The rewarding feeling people experience due to taking drugs may be so profound that they neglect other normal activities in favor of taking the drug. […] The pharmacological mechanisms for each class of drug are different. However, the activation of the reward system is similar across substances in producing feelings of pleasure or euphoria, often referred to as a „high.” […] The DSM-5-TR recognizes that people are not all automatically or equally vulnerable to developing substance-related disorders. Some people have lower levels of self-control that predispose them to develop problems if exposed to drugs. […] In the text revision of the DSM-5, the information on substance-induced mild neurocognitive disorders was updated to include symptoms caused by stimulants such as methamphetamine and cocaine. Such additions were made in response to research demonstrating that prolonged stimulant use can produce lingering neurocognitive effects on learning, memory, and executive function.
  • #40 Drug addiction: from bench to bedside | Translational Psychiatry
    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-021-01542-0
    The circuit at the centre of the disease is the mesolimbic pathway, also referred as the reward pathway. […] Through different initial mechanisms, drugs of abuse increase the release of dopamine in the NAc from the VTA. […] Regardless that drugs of abuse have distinct protein targets and mechanisms of action, in the end, the main addiction-related modifications are common to nearly all drugs of abuse and converge on the VTA and NAc with common acute functional effects. […] The physiological function of this response is to facilitate the motivation for basic biological goal-directed behaviours as survival, social interaction and reproduction. […] By artificially causing a build-up of dopamine in the NAc, drugs of abuse generate an artificial reward effect. […] As all drugs of abuse increase dopaminergic transmission to the NAc after acute administration, they also produce shared modifications in the mesolimbic system after chronic exposure.
  • #41 Azthena logo with the word Azthena
    https://www.news-medical.net/whitepaper/20190311/The-Biological-Mechanisms-Behind-Addiction.aspx
    Yet, recreational use of drugs also results in adaptive changes, for example, tolerance, that promotes continued use of drugs, because the withdrawal symptoms that emerge after the discontinuance of drugs is so severe that it drives relapse. […] Ketamine, stimulants, and potentially opioids seem to decrease the function of the PFC/OFC, and therefore, they are less capable of exerting „top-down” control over urges and impulses. […] Drugs that imitate the actions of the endogenous opioid endorphin peptides are called opioids. […] They differ with respect to efficacy and affinity at the opioid receptor, which happens to be their site of action in reward. […] Alcohol appears to improve the actions of both GABAB and GABAA receptors and at higher doses also blocks NMDA glutamate receptors, influences dopamine release, and stimulates 5-HT3 receptors.
  • #42 Azthena logo with the word Azthena
    https://www.news-medical.net/whitepaper/20190311/The-Biological-Mechanisms-Behind-Addiction.aspx
    Yet, recreational use of drugs also results in adaptive changes, for example, tolerance, that promotes continued use of drugs, because the withdrawal symptoms that emerge after the discontinuance of drugs is so severe that it drives relapse. […] Ketamine, stimulants, and potentially opioids seem to decrease the function of the PFC/OFC, and therefore, they are less capable of exerting „top-down” control over urges and impulses. […] Drugs that imitate the actions of the endogenous opioid endorphin peptides are called opioids. […] They differ with respect to efficacy and affinity at the opioid receptor, which happens to be their site of action in reward. […] Alcohol appears to improve the actions of both GABAB and GABAA receptors and at higher doses also blocks NMDA glutamate receptors, influences dopamine release, and stimulates 5-HT3 receptors.
  • #43 Opioid Abuse: Practice Essentials, Background, Pathophysiology
    https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/287790-overview
    Opioids act by binding to opioid receptors on neurons distributed throughout the nervous system and immune system. Four major types of opioid receptors have been identified: mu, kappa, delta, and the more recently identified OFQ/N. […] Understanding the role of endogenous peptides allows us to understand why medications and drugs that bind to opioid receptors have such profound effects on so many organ systems and bodily functions. […] More than 20 clinically available medications bind opioid receptors. Most of these are prototypical mu receptor full agonists (capable of producing a maximal response at mu receptor subtypes in opioid-sensitive systems), and are associated with the following constellation of effects: Pain relief, Mood alteration (often producing euphoria and decreased anxiety), Respiratory depression (can cause death in overdose), Decreased gastrointestinal motility (can cause constipation), Cough suppression, Suppression of corticotropin-releasing factor and adrenocorticotropin hormone, Pinpoint pupils (miosis), Nausea, vomiting, pruritis (less common).
  • #44 Opioid Abuse: Practice Essentials, Background, Pathophysiology
    https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/287790-overview
    Opioids act by binding to opioid receptors on neurons distributed throughout the nervous system and immune system. Four major types of opioid receptors have been identified: mu, kappa, delta, and the more recently identified OFQ/N. […] Understanding the role of endogenous peptides allows us to understand why medications and drugs that bind to opioid receptors have such profound effects on so many organ systems and bodily functions. […] More than 20 clinically available medications bind opioid receptors. Most of these are prototypical mu receptor full agonists (capable of producing a maximal response at mu receptor subtypes in opioid-sensitive systems), and are associated with the following constellation of effects: Pain relief, Mood alteration (often producing euphoria and decreased anxiety), Respiratory depression (can cause death in overdose), Decreased gastrointestinal motility (can cause constipation), Cough suppression, Suppression of corticotropin-releasing factor and adrenocorticotropin hormone, Pinpoint pupils (miosis), Nausea, vomiting, pruritis (less common).
  • #45 Opioid Abuse: Practice Essentials, Background, Pathophysiology
    https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/287790-overview
    Opioids act by binding to opioid receptors on neurons distributed throughout the nervous system and immune system. Four major types of opioid receptors have been identified: mu, kappa, delta, and the more recently identified OFQ/N. […] Understanding the role of endogenous peptides allows us to understand why medications and drugs that bind to opioid receptors have such profound effects on so many organ systems and bodily functions. […] More than 20 clinically available medications bind opioid receptors. Most of these are prototypical mu receptor full agonists (capable of producing a maximal response at mu receptor subtypes in opioid-sensitive systems), and are associated with the following constellation of effects: Pain relief, Mood alteration (often producing euphoria and decreased anxiety), Respiratory depression (can cause death in overdose), Decreased gastrointestinal motility (can cause constipation), Cough suppression, Suppression of corticotropin-releasing factor and adrenocorticotropin hormone, Pinpoint pupils (miosis), Nausea, vomiting, pruritis (less common).
  • #46 Opioid Abuse: Practice Essentials, Background, Pathophysiology
    https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/287790-overview
    One of the most insidious features of opioid addiction is the tendency to relapse on the drug even weeks, months, or years after those addicted stop using and withdrawal symptoms disappear. The mechanism for this type of relapse is being studied intensely. Animal studies suggest 3 distinct conditions that reliably induce relapse: Stress, Exposure to conditioned cues related to past drug use, A dose of the previously administered drug or a drug with similar properties. […] There is evidence that long-term administration of opioids can permanently alter the density of dendritic spines in certain neurons, and these permanent changes may contribute to long-lasting vulnerability to relapse.
  • #47 Azthena logo with the word Azthena
    https://www.news-medical.net/whitepaper/20190311/The-Biological-Mechanisms-Behind-Addiction.aspx
    Yet, recreational use of drugs also results in adaptive changes, for example, tolerance, that promotes continued use of drugs, because the withdrawal symptoms that emerge after the discontinuance of drugs is so severe that it drives relapse. […] Ketamine, stimulants, and potentially opioids seem to decrease the function of the PFC/OFC, and therefore, they are less capable of exerting „top-down” control over urges and impulses. […] Drugs that imitate the actions of the endogenous opioid endorphin peptides are called opioids. […] They differ with respect to efficacy and affinity at the opioid receptor, which happens to be their site of action in reward. […] Alcohol appears to improve the actions of both GABAB and GABAA receptors and at higher doses also blocks NMDA glutamate receptors, influences dopamine release, and stimulates 5-HT3 receptors.
  • #48 7 Common Health Conditions Caused by Substance Abuse – Adcare.com
    https://adcare.com/addiction-resources-center/health-conditions-substance-abuse/
    The abuse of drugs or alcohol can cause changes to brain chemistry. Further, the substance is often processed through many different body systems, potentially causing wider spread damage. These changes can lead to lasting damage. […] When a person struggles with substance abuse for a long time, the brain adapts. As it does so, certain changes in brain chemistry accompany the development of physical dependence to the substance in question. In addition to physical dependence, consistent use of an addictive substance may ultimately lead to addiction, a brain disorder. As addiction develops, regions of the brain involved with several key functions such as reward/pleasure, decision making, and impulse control, may undergo changes. […] Alcohol, benzodiazepines, and other sedative-hypnotics are central nervous system depressants, meaning they reduce excitatory brain signaling, leading to a greater sense of calm or relaxation. At high enough doses, these drugs are also associated with movement problems, significant cognitive impairment, and memory loss.
  • #49
    https://step2.medbullets.com/psychiatry/120661/substance-intoxication-and-withdrawal
    most addictive drugs act on the dopamine mesolimbic-reward pathway […] mu receptor agonist […] opioid withdrawal is NOT fatal – it is just unpleasant […] clonidine 2 agonist that decreases NE and sympathetic output making autonomic symptoms less intense […] methadone typically oral […] long-acting IV opiate used for heroin detoxification or long-term maintenance […] suboxone (buprenorphine + naloxone) long-acting oral administration with fewer withdrawal symptoms than methadone […] naltrexone opioid antagonist used to assist in blocking cravings for both opioids (and alcohol) […] alcohol is a depressant – increases GABAa channel opening […] long term use leads to downregulation of GABA channels (inhibitory) and upregulation of NMDA (excitatory)
  • #50 How alcohol and drugs rewire the brain | News
    https://news.llu.edu/health-wellness/how-alcohol-and-drugs-rewire-brain
    The use of alcohol and drugs can dramatically alter brain structure and functioning, with far-reaching effects on behavior and cognition. […] Substance use can mimic or inhibit the action of neurotransmitters by disrupting the brain’s normal communication pathways. This disruption can cause a cascade of effects, altering mood, behavior, and cognitive function. […] One of the most significant impacts of addictive substances is on the brain’s reward pathway, primarily through the release of dopamine. This neurotransmitter is associated with pleasure and reinforcement. […] Many addictive substances activate the reward pathway, leading to intense feelings of pleasure and euphoria. The pleasurable sensation reinforces the desire to use the substance again, contributing to the development of dependency.
  • #51 7 Common Health Conditions Caused by Substance Abuse – Adcare.com
    https://adcare.com/addiction-resources-center/health-conditions-substance-abuse/
    Stimulants like cocaine, meth, ecstasy, and some other designer drugs increase neuron firing, leading to greater attention, emotional highs, and physical energy. However, once these drugs begin to leave the body, negative side effects may develop as the brain may be slower to restore balance to neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine.
  • #52 7 Common Health Conditions Caused by Substance Abuse – Adcare.com
    https://adcare.com/addiction-resources-center/health-conditions-substance-abuse/
    Stimulants like cocaine, meth, ecstasy, and some other designer drugs increase neuron firing, leading to greater attention, emotional highs, and physical energy. However, once these drugs begin to leave the body, negative side effects may develop as the brain may be slower to restore balance to neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine.
  • #53 DSM 5 Criteria for Substance Use Disorders
    https://www.verywellmind.com/dsm-5-criteria-for-substance-use-disorders-21926
    The activation of the brains reward system is central to problems arising from drug use. The rewarding feeling people experience due to taking drugs may be so profound that they neglect other normal activities in favor of taking the drug. […] The pharmacological mechanisms for each class of drug are different. However, the activation of the reward system is similar across substances in producing feelings of pleasure or euphoria, often referred to as a „high.” […] The DSM-5-TR recognizes that people are not all automatically or equally vulnerable to developing substance-related disorders. Some people have lower levels of self-control that predispose them to develop problems if exposed to drugs. […] In the text revision of the DSM-5, the information on substance-induced mild neurocognitive disorders was updated to include symptoms caused by stimulants such as methamphetamine and cocaine. Such additions were made in response to research demonstrating that prolonged stimulant use can produce lingering neurocognitive effects on learning, memory, and executive function.
  • #54 Azthena logo with the word Azthena
    https://www.news-medical.net/whitepaper/20190311/The-Biological-Mechanisms-Behind-Addiction.aspx
    Ketamine, and previously PCP, are dissociative respiratory-sparing anesthetics that also treat chronic pain and acute depression. […] They function as glutamate NMDA receptor antagonists but since several of these receptors are present presynaptically on GABA interneurons and on glutamate neurons, the ketamine blockade results in increased glutamate transmission, which, in turn, stimulates AMPA receptors.
  • #55 Azthena logo with the word Azthena
    https://www.news-medical.net/whitepaper/20190311/The-Biological-Mechanisms-Behind-Addiction.aspx
    Ketamine, and previously PCP, are dissociative respiratory-sparing anesthetics that also treat chronic pain and acute depression. […] They function as glutamate NMDA receptor antagonists but since several of these receptors are present presynaptically on GABA interneurons and on glutamate neurons, the ketamine blockade results in increased glutamate transmission, which, in turn, stimulates AMPA receptors.
  • #56 Psychiatry.org – What Is a Substance Use Disorder?
    https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/addiction-substance-use-disorders/what-is-a-substance-use-disorder
    People with a substance use disorder may have distorted thinking and behaviors. Changes in the brain’s structure and function are what cause people to have intense cravings, changes in personality, abnormal movements, and other behaviors. Brain imaging studies show changes in the areas of the brain that relate to judgment, decision-making, learning, memory, and behavioral control. […] Many people experience substance use disorder along with another psychiatric disorder. Another psychiatric disorder can, but does not necessarily, precede another psychiatric disorder. It is also possible that the use of a substance may trigger or worsen another psychiatric disorder. […] Effective treatments for substance use disorders are available. […] Because SUDs affect many aspects of a person’s life, multiple types of treatment are often required. For most, a combination of medication and individual or group therapy is most effective. Treatment approaches that address an individual’s specific situation and any co-occurring medical, psychiatric, and social problems are optimal for sustained recovery.
  • #57 How alcohol and drugs rewire the brain | News
    https://news.llu.edu/health-wellness/how-alcohol-and-drugs-rewire-brain
    The use of alcohol and drugs can dramatically alter brain structure and functioning, with far-reaching effects on behavior and cognition. […] Substance use can mimic or inhibit the action of neurotransmitters by disrupting the brain’s normal communication pathways. This disruption can cause a cascade of effects, altering mood, behavior, and cognitive function. […] One of the most significant impacts of addictive substances is on the brain’s reward pathway, primarily through the release of dopamine. This neurotransmitter is associated with pleasure and reinforcement. […] Many addictive substances activate the reward pathway, leading to intense feelings of pleasure and euphoria. The pleasurable sensation reinforces the desire to use the substance again, contributing to the development of dependency.
  • #58 How alcohol and drugs rewire the brain | News
    https://news.llu.edu/health-wellness/how-alcohol-and-drugs-rewire-brain
    The use of alcohol and drugs can dramatically alter brain structure and functioning, with far-reaching effects on behavior and cognition. […] Substance use can mimic or inhibit the action of neurotransmitters by disrupting the brain’s normal communication pathways. This disruption can cause a cascade of effects, altering mood, behavior, and cognitive function. […] One of the most significant impacts of addictive substances is on the brain’s reward pathway, primarily through the release of dopamine. This neurotransmitter is associated with pleasure and reinforcement. […] Many addictive substances activate the reward pathway, leading to intense feelings of pleasure and euphoria. The pleasurable sensation reinforces the desire to use the substance again, contributing to the development of dependency.
  • #59 Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction: Drugs and the Brain | NIDA
    https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/drugs-brain
    Drugs can alter important brain areas that are necessary for life-sustaining functions and can drive the compulsive drug use that marks addiction. […] Some drugs like opioids also disrupt other parts of the brain, such as the brain stem, which controls basic functions critical to life, including heart rate, breathing, and sleeping. This interference explains why overdoses can cause depressed breathing and death. […] Just as drugs produce intense euphoria, they also produce much larger surges of dopamine, powerfully reinforcing the connection between consumption of the drug, the resulting pleasure, and all the external cues linked to the experience. Large surges of dopamine teach the brain to seek drugs at the expense of other, healthier goals and activities. […] For the brain, the difference between normal rewards and drug rewards can be likened to the difference between someone whispering into your ear and someone shouting into a microphone. Just as we turn down the volume on a radio that is too loud, the brain of someone who misuses drugs adjusts by producing fewer neurotransmitters in the reward circuit, or by reducing the number of receptors that can receive signals. As a result, the person’s ability to experience pleasure from naturally rewarding (i.e., reinforcing) activities is also reduced.
  • #60 Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction: Drugs and the Brain | NIDA
    https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/drugs-brain
    Drugs can alter important brain areas that are necessary for life-sustaining functions and can drive the compulsive drug use that marks addiction. […] Some drugs like opioids also disrupt other parts of the brain, such as the brain stem, which controls basic functions critical to life, including heart rate, breathing, and sleeping. This interference explains why overdoses can cause depressed breathing and death. […] Just as drugs produce intense euphoria, they also produce much larger surges of dopamine, powerfully reinforcing the connection between consumption of the drug, the resulting pleasure, and all the external cues linked to the experience. Large surges of dopamine teach the brain to seek drugs at the expense of other, healthier goals and activities. […] For the brain, the difference between normal rewards and drug rewards can be likened to the difference between someone whispering into your ear and someone shouting into a microphone. Just as we turn down the volume on a radio that is too loud, the brain of someone who misuses drugs adjusts by producing fewer neurotransmitters in the reward circuit, or by reducing the number of receptors that can receive signals. As a result, the person’s ability to experience pleasure from naturally rewarding (i.e., reinforcing) activities is also reduced.
  • #61 How an Addicted Brain Works > News > Yale Medicine
    https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/how-an-addicted-brain-works
    Addiction is now understood to be a brain disease. […] This is whats at play when you hear about reward systems or pathways and the role of dopamine when it comes to addiction. […] When a person develops an addiction to a substance, its because the brain has started to change. […] Instead of a simple, pleasurable surge of dopamine, many drugs of abusesuch as opioids, cocaine, or nicotinecause dopamine to flood the reward pathway, 10 times more than a natural reward. […] However, with chronic use of the substance, over time the brains circuits adapt and become less sensitive to dopamine. […] Addiction can also cause problems with focus, memory, and learning, not to mention decision-making and judgement. […] Research shows that medication-based treatments are the most effective treatment. […] Opioid use disorder is a medical condition just like depression, diabetes or hypertension, and as with those conditions, it is most effectively treated with a combination of medication and counseling.
  • #62 Psychiatry.org – What Is a Substance Use Disorder?
    https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/addiction-substance-use-disorders/what-is-a-substance-use-disorder
    People with a substance use disorder may have distorted thinking and behaviors. Changes in the brain’s structure and function are what cause people to have intense cravings, changes in personality, abnormal movements, and other behaviors. Brain imaging studies show changes in the areas of the brain that relate to judgment, decision-making, learning, memory, and behavioral control. […] Many people experience substance use disorder along with another psychiatric disorder. Another psychiatric disorder can, but does not necessarily, precede another psychiatric disorder. It is also possible that the use of a substance may trigger or worsen another psychiatric disorder. […] Effective treatments for substance use disorders are available. […] Because SUDs affect many aspects of a person’s life, multiple types of treatment are often required. For most, a combination of medication and individual or group therapy is most effective. Treatment approaches that address an individual’s specific situation and any co-occurring medical, psychiatric, and social problems are optimal for sustained recovery.
  • #63 Psychiatry.org – What Is a Substance Use Disorder?
    https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/addiction-substance-use-disorders/what-is-a-substance-use-disorder
    People with a substance use disorder may have distorted thinking and behaviors. Changes in the brain’s structure and function are what cause people to have intense cravings, changes in personality, abnormal movements, and other behaviors. Brain imaging studies show changes in the areas of the brain that relate to judgment, decision-making, learning, memory, and behavioral control. […] Many people experience substance use disorder along with another psychiatric disorder. Another psychiatric disorder can, but does not necessarily, precede another psychiatric disorder. It is also possible that the use of a substance may trigger or worsen another psychiatric disorder. […] Effective treatments for substance use disorders are available. […] Because SUDs affect many aspects of a person’s life, multiple types of treatment are often required. For most, a combination of medication and individual or group therapy is most effective. Treatment approaches that address an individual’s specific situation and any co-occurring medical, psychiatric, and social problems are optimal for sustained recovery.
  • #64 Addiction and the Brain | Psychology Today
    https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/addiction/addiction-and-the-brain
    Once consumed, the drug delivers a powerful stimulus to the nucleus accumbens, a cluster of nerve cells below the cerebral cortex, which responds quickly by releasing a flood of dopamine. […] Repeated use of a drug changes the wiring of the brain in a number of ways. […] It stimulates the nucleus accumbens, and overactivity of the nucleus accumbens progressively weakens its connectivity to the prefrontal cortex, seat of executive functioning. […] Neuroscience research supports the idea that addiction is a habit that becomes quickly and deeply entrenched and self-perpetuating, rapidly rewiring the circuitry of the brain because it is aided and abetted by the power of dopamine. […] The biological weakening of decision-making areas in the brain suggests why addicts pursue and consume drugs even in the face of negative consequences or the knowledge of positive outcomes that might come from quitting the drugs.
  • #65 Opioid Abuse: Practice Essentials, Background, Pathophysiology
    https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/287790-overview
    One of the most insidious features of opioid addiction is the tendency to relapse on the drug even weeks, months, or years after those addicted stop using and withdrawal symptoms disappear. The mechanism for this type of relapse is being studied intensely. Animal studies suggest 3 distinct conditions that reliably induce relapse: Stress, Exposure to conditioned cues related to past drug use, A dose of the previously administered drug or a drug with similar properties. […] There is evidence that long-term administration of opioids can permanently alter the density of dendritic spines in certain neurons, and these permanent changes may contribute to long-lasting vulnerability to relapse.
  • #66
    https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/understanding-the-neurobiological-basis-of-substance-abuse-addiction/article69326021.ece
    The neuroadaptations that occur with ongoing substance use not only impair brain function but accelerate the transition from controlled to compulsive use. […] These alterations may persist long after substance use ceases, contributing to relapse vulnerability and periodic cravings even after prolonged periods of abstinence. […] A deeper comprehension of the recovery process will undoubtedly influence the development of more effective treatment and support programs. […] As our understanding of the neurobiological basis of addiction evolves, so too will our treatment approaches, potentially leading to more targeted interventions that address the specific neural circuits disrupted in addiction. […] The brain’s remarkable plasticity its ability to reorganise and adapt offers hope even in the face of addiction’s persistent challenges.
  • #67
    https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/understanding-the-neurobiological-basis-of-substance-abuse-addiction/article69326021.ece
    The neuroadaptations that occur with ongoing substance use not only impair brain function but accelerate the transition from controlled to compulsive use. […] These alterations may persist long after substance use ceases, contributing to relapse vulnerability and periodic cravings even after prolonged periods of abstinence. […] A deeper comprehension of the recovery process will undoubtedly influence the development of more effective treatment and support programs. […] As our understanding of the neurobiological basis of addiction evolves, so too will our treatment approaches, potentially leading to more targeted interventions that address the specific neural circuits disrupted in addiction. […] The brain’s remarkable plasticity its ability to reorganise and adapt offers hope even in the face of addiction’s persistent challenges.
  • #68 Drug addiction: from bench to bedside | Translational Psychiatry
    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-021-01542-0
    The hypofunction of dopaminergic system hypothesis is self-fulfilling in that research work has principally focused on dopamine to the exclusion of other neurotransmitters. […] The progression of drug addiction begins with the first exposure, mostly when the drug is taken voluntarily for its recreational and hedonic effect, and progressively consolidates during repeated but still controlled drug use. […] While administration intensifies along with loss of control over drug intake, drug use becomes habitual and compulsive in vulnerable individuals. […] Brain plasticity is a fascinating capacity allowing appropriate modification of the neural activity in response to new experiences and environmental stimuli. […] Hence, it is appealing to hypothesise that drugs of abuse cause long-term alterations on behaviour by changing synaptic plasticity in key brain circuits.
  • #69 Addiction and the Brain | Psychology Today
    https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/addiction/addiction-and-the-brain
    The brain alterations change the way the brain works notably in the dopamine system to create the craving, the progressive inability to exert control, and other dysfunctions associated with substance use. […] The view of addiction as a disease is consonant with some facts about the condition. […] It suggests that drug use is difficult to quit. […] The disease model of addiction, studies show, also fosters more compassionate attitudes towards those who are addicted and more human treatment. […] Addiction corrupts the ability to make choices. […] Addiction brings about changes in the brain, but those changes do not reflect a pathological process. […] The pathways to addiction can be difficult to understand, because substance abuse, as a result of the intense burst of pleasure it brings, rapidly rewires the circuitry of the brain to become highly efficient at drug wanting and seeking.
  • #70 How alcohol and drugs rewire the brain | News
    https://news.llu.edu/health-wellness/how-alcohol-and-drugs-rewire-brain
    Chronic use of alcohol and drugs can induce neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections. This can lead to changes in brain structure, making it more susceptible to addiction. […] With repeated exposure, the brain may develop tolerance, requiring higher doses to achieve the same effects. This tolerance drives individuals to consume larger quantities, increasing the risk of addiction and other negative outcomes. […] Continued use of alcohol and drugs can lead to physical and psychological dependence, where the brain adapts to the presence of the substance and requires it to function normally. Withdrawal symptoms may occur when substance use is reduced or discontinued, further reinforcing the cycle of addiction. […] The link between trauma and addiction is complex. Trauma can lead individuals to use substances as a coping mechanism, self-medicating to relieve distressing emotions and memories.
  • #71 Drug addiction: from bench to bedside | Translational Psychiatry
    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-021-01542-0
    The abstinence period after withdrawal is of particular interest considering the classical progression of the disease, the chance of relapse and the opportunity for new therapeutic targets. […] It was thus proposed that GluA2-lacking AMPARs could be a new target for drug development for the treatment of cocaine addiction. […] Epigenetics can be considered as the process through which environment (and normal development) interacts with an individuals genome to determine all phenotypic traits, in health and disease. […] Stable modifications in gene expression are also said to be epigenetic, because they are heritable in the short term (through mitosis) and in some cases trans-generationally, thus, providing a potential mechanism for environmental influences to be passed from parents to offspring.
  • #72 Drug addiction: from bench to bedside | Translational Psychiatry
    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-021-01542-0
    Some epigenetic changes are very stable, an thus mediate both drug addiction susceptibility and drug-induced brain alterations that underlie the development of drug addiction. […] To date, the three main epigenetic mechanisms consist of (1) DNA methylation, (2) action of the non-coding RNAs and (3) histone post-translational modifications (PTMs). […] Among these PTMs, the most studied is the acetylation of H3 and H4, that is increased in the NAc after chronic exposure to drugs of abuse. […] This increase in global acetylation levels is the result of drug-induced alterations in the balance of histone acetyltransferase and histone deacetylase (HDAC) function and is associated with gene activation. […] The characterisation of the role of glia and the extracellular matrix (ECM) in drug-induced synaptic plasticity is an exciting emerging field of drug addiction research as it comes with promising new therapeutic possibilities. […] The modifications in glutamatergic nuclei targeting the NAc, or the VTA and essential part of the reward circuit, are less studied than cortico-striatal synapses despite the fact that they play a crucial role in the development of drug addiction.
  • #73 Addiction and the Brain | Psychology Today
    https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/addiction/addiction-and-the-brain
    The capacity for neuroplasticity, however, also enables the brain to rewire itself more normally once drug usage is stopped. […] In the course of recovery from addiction, brain gets unstuck; areas that lost connectivity particularly the prefrontal cortex regain their normal neural power. […] Gradually, executive function is restored. […] People recover the ability to exert control over impulses, over feelings of craving.
  • #74 Addiction and the Brain | Psychology Today
    https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/addiction/addiction-and-the-brain
    The capacity for neuroplasticity, however, also enables the brain to rewire itself more normally once drug usage is stopped. […] In the course of recovery from addiction, brain gets unstuck; areas that lost connectivity particularly the prefrontal cortex regain their normal neural power. […] Gradually, executive function is restored. […] People recover the ability to exert control over impulses, over feelings of craving.
  • #75 Addiction and the Brain | Psychology Today
    https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/addiction/addiction-and-the-brain
    The capacity for neuroplasticity, however, also enables the brain to rewire itself more normally once drug usage is stopped. […] In the course of recovery from addiction, brain gets unstuck; areas that lost connectivity particularly the prefrontal cortex regain their normal neural power. […] Gradually, executive function is restored. […] People recover the ability to exert control over impulses, over feelings of craving.
  • #76 The Brain in Recovery – Recovery Research Institute
    https://www.recoveryanswers.org/recovery-101/brain-in-recovery/
    Individuals who develop a substance use disorder will find that over time the substance will no longer give them the same amount of pleasure as before, and they subsequently have to take larger amounts of the substance more frequently to feel an effect. […] The neuroscience of addiction recovery is an exciting and emerging area of research. […] There is evidence that the brain does recover over time; this image below shows the brain of a healthy control on the left, and a patient in recovery from methamphetamine use disorder on the right. […] What is clear is that alcohol and cannabis do have some neurotoxic effects and that, at least to some degree, this damage is able to be reversed in a similar way that the brain is able to recover from using other substances. […] Research on how we can specifically improve brain recovery from substance use is still ongoing as well, but emerging literature suggests that physical exercise could be beneficial in this way by improving neuroplasticity, which is the resiliency of the brain to adapt to harm and adjust neural pathways to allow for normal functioning after being damaged.
  • #77 How an Addicted Brain Works > News > Yale Medicine
    https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/how-an-addicted-brain-works
    Addiction is now understood to be a brain disease. […] This is whats at play when you hear about reward systems or pathways and the role of dopamine when it comes to addiction. […] When a person develops an addiction to a substance, its because the brain has started to change. […] Instead of a simple, pleasurable surge of dopamine, many drugs of abusesuch as opioids, cocaine, or nicotinecause dopamine to flood the reward pathway, 10 times more than a natural reward. […] However, with chronic use of the substance, over time the brains circuits adapt and become less sensitive to dopamine. […] Addiction can also cause problems with focus, memory, and learning, not to mention decision-making and judgement. […] Research shows that medication-based treatments are the most effective treatment. […] Opioid use disorder is a medical condition just like depression, diabetes or hypertension, and as with those conditions, it is most effectively treated with a combination of medication and counseling.
  • #78 Psychiatry.org – What Is a Substance Use Disorder?
    https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/addiction-substance-use-disorders/what-is-a-substance-use-disorder
    Medications are used to control cravings, relieve symptoms of withdrawal, and to prevent relapses. Psychotherapy can help individuals with SUD better understand their behavior and motivations, develop higher self-esteem, cope with stress, and address other psychiatric problems. […] These 13 principles of effective drug addiction treatment were developed based on three decades of scientific research. Research shows that treatment can help drug-addicted individuals stop drug use, avoid relapse and successfully recover their lives. […] Addiction is a complex, but treatable, disease that affects brain function and behavior.
  • #79 Substance Use and Substance Use Disorders in Travelers | Yellow Book | CDC
    https://www.cdc.gov/yellow-book/hcp/travelers-with-additional-considerations/substance-use.html
    Substance use disorders (SUDs) occur when the recurrent use of alcohol or drugs causes clinically significant impairment, including health problems, disability, or failure to meet major responsibilities at work, school, or home. […] In 2023, 8.9 million people aged 12 years or older reported misusing prescription opioids or using heroin within the past 12 months. Among persons who used prescription opioids and persons who used heroin, 5.7 million were classified as having an opioid use disorder (OUD) in the past year. Therefore, OUD is not uncommon in the United States, and healthcare professionals may encounter patients experiencing, or in recovery from, this condition. Preparing travelers with OUD to travel internationally requires additional planning. […] Medications are available to effectively prevent overdose, treat OUD, and sustain recovery; however, these medications might be restricted or prohibited in other countries. Examples of medications used to treat OUD include buprenorphine and methadone, which act as opioid agonists. These medications reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms by occupying and activating opioid receptors, without producing euphoria. The opioid antagonist naltrexone works by blocking the effects of opioids.
  • #80 Drug Abuse, Dopamine and the Brain’s Reward System
    https://www.hazeldenbettyford.org/research-studies/addiction-research/drug-abuse-brain
    Dopamine agonist or partial agonist medications have been developed with the intention of mimicking increased dopamine in the brain, while trying to control the amount of dopamine release and reduce the intensity of the pleasurable response in order to minimize cravings and extinguish the learning association. […] By maintaining lower dopamine levels in the brain, dopamine receptors can start returning to higher, normal levels. […] Increasing the number of dopamine receptors to normal levels reduces impulsivity and anhedonia symptoms.
  • #81 Drug Abuse, Dopamine and the Brain’s Reward System
    https://www.hazeldenbettyford.org/research-studies/addiction-research/drug-abuse-brain
    Dopamine agonist or partial agonist medications have been developed with the intention of mimicking increased dopamine in the brain, while trying to control the amount of dopamine release and reduce the intensity of the pleasurable response in order to minimize cravings and extinguish the learning association. […] By maintaining lower dopamine levels in the brain, dopamine receptors can start returning to higher, normal levels. […] Increasing the number of dopamine receptors to normal levels reduces impulsivity and anhedonia symptoms.
  • #82 Psychiatry.org – What Is a Substance Use Disorder?
    https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/addiction-substance-use-disorders/what-is-a-substance-use-disorder
    Medications are used to control cravings, relieve symptoms of withdrawal, and to prevent relapses. Psychotherapy can help individuals with SUD better understand their behavior and motivations, develop higher self-esteem, cope with stress, and address other psychiatric problems. […] These 13 principles of effective drug addiction treatment were developed based on three decades of scientific research. Research shows that treatment can help drug-addicted individuals stop drug use, avoid relapse and successfully recover their lives. […] Addiction is a complex, but treatable, disease that affects brain function and behavior.
  • #83 Psychiatry.org – What Is a Substance Use Disorder?
    https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/addiction-substance-use-disorders/what-is-a-substance-use-disorder
    Medications are used to control cravings, relieve symptoms of withdrawal, and to prevent relapses. Psychotherapy can help individuals with SUD better understand their behavior and motivations, develop higher self-esteem, cope with stress, and address other psychiatric problems. […] These 13 principles of effective drug addiction treatment were developed based on three decades of scientific research. Research shows that treatment can help drug-addicted individuals stop drug use, avoid relapse and successfully recover their lives. […] Addiction is a complex, but treatable, disease that affects brain function and behavior.
  • #84 Psychiatry.org – What Is a Substance Use Disorder?
    https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/addiction-substance-use-disorders/what-is-a-substance-use-disorder
    People with a substance use disorder may have distorted thinking and behaviors. Changes in the brain’s structure and function are what cause people to have intense cravings, changes in personality, abnormal movements, and other behaviors. Brain imaging studies show changes in the areas of the brain that relate to judgment, decision-making, learning, memory, and behavioral control. […] Many people experience substance use disorder along with another psychiatric disorder. Another psychiatric disorder can, but does not necessarily, precede another psychiatric disorder. It is also possible that the use of a substance may trigger or worsen another psychiatric disorder. […] Effective treatments for substance use disorders are available. […] Because SUDs affect many aspects of a person’s life, multiple types of treatment are often required. For most, a combination of medication and individual or group therapy is most effective. Treatment approaches that address an individual’s specific situation and any co-occurring medical, psychiatric, and social problems are optimal for sustained recovery.
  • #85 Psychiatry.org – What Is a Substance Use Disorder?
    https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/addiction-substance-use-disorders/what-is-a-substance-use-disorder
    People with a substance use disorder may have distorted thinking and behaviors. Changes in the brain’s structure and function are what cause people to have intense cravings, changes in personality, abnormal movements, and other behaviors. Brain imaging studies show changes in the areas of the brain that relate to judgment, decision-making, learning, memory, and behavioral control. […] Many people experience substance use disorder along with another psychiatric disorder. Another psychiatric disorder can, but does not necessarily, precede another psychiatric disorder. It is also possible that the use of a substance may trigger or worsen another psychiatric disorder. […] Effective treatments for substance use disorders are available. […] Because SUDs affect many aspects of a person’s life, multiple types of treatment are often required. For most, a combination of medication and individual or group therapy is most effective. Treatment approaches that address an individual’s specific situation and any co-occurring medical, psychiatric, and social problems are optimal for sustained recovery.
  • #86 Addiction: What It Is, Causes, Symptoms, Types & Treatment
    https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/6407-addiction
    Over time, the substances or activities change your brain chemistry, and you become desensitized to their effects. You then need more to produce the same effect. […] A significant part of how addiction develops is through changes in your brain chemistry. […] For some substances, such as opioids, the withdrawal symptoms are so severe that they create significant motivation to continue using them. […] Studies show that genetic factors are responsible for 40% to 60% of the vulnerability to any SUD. […] There’s a strong link between addiction and mental health conditions, such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and bipolar disorder. […] Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) also play a role. ACEs are stressful or traumatic events during childhood. ACEs are strongly related to the development of a wide range of health problems throughout a person’s lifespan, including addiction.
  • #87 Psychiatry.org – What Is a Substance Use Disorder?
    https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/addiction-substance-use-disorders/what-is-a-substance-use-disorder
    People with a substance use disorder may have distorted thinking and behaviors. Changes in the brain’s structure and function are what cause people to have intense cravings, changes in personality, abnormal movements, and other behaviors. Brain imaging studies show changes in the areas of the brain that relate to judgment, decision-making, learning, memory, and behavioral control. […] Many people experience substance use disorder along with another psychiatric disorder. Another psychiatric disorder can, but does not necessarily, precede another psychiatric disorder. It is also possible that the use of a substance may trigger or worsen another psychiatric disorder. […] Effective treatments for substance use disorders are available. […] Because SUDs affect many aspects of a person’s life, multiple types of treatment are often required. For most, a combination of medication and individual or group therapy is most effective. Treatment approaches that address an individual’s specific situation and any co-occurring medical, psychiatric, and social problems are optimal for sustained recovery.
  • #88 Substance Use Disorders | NAMI
    https://www.nami.org/about-mental-illness/common-with-mental-illness/substance-use-disorders/
    Substance use disorders — the repeated misuse of alcohol and/or drugs — often occur simultaneously in individuals with mental illness, usually to cope with overwhelming symptoms. The combination of these two illnesses has its own term: dual diagnosis, or co-occurring disorders. Either disorder (substance use or mental illness) can develop first. […] According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 17 million U.S. adults experienced both mental illness and a substance use disorder in 2020. […] The best treatment for dual diagnosis is integrated intervention, when a person receives care for both their diagnosed mental illness and substance use disorder. The idea that “I cannot treat your depression because you are also drinking” is outdated — current thinking requires both issues be addressed.
  • #89 Genes and Addiction
    https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/genes/
    When scientists look for „addiction genes,” what they are really looking for are biological differences that may make a person more or less vulnerable to addiction. […] Substance use disorder often runs in families. Thats because there is an inherited component, meaning it can pass from parent to child by way of genes. […] Like most other diseases, substance use disorder is a complex trait. Its influenced by variations in multiple genes, plus factors from the environment. […] While finding the precise genetic cause is tricky, multiple lines of research do show that genes influence substance use. From careful studies, scientists estimate a persons genetics account for 40-60 percent of their risk. […] Finding the genes involved in addiction is a good first step in finding solutions. Understanding how genes cause biological differences can lead to improved treatments for substance use disorder. […] Each new addiction-related gene discovered is a potential drug target. Researchers can focus on the gene product (protein) and develop a drug to modify its activity. The goal is to correct signals or pathways and restore proper brain function.
  • #90
    https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/understanding-the-neurobiological-basis-of-substance-abuse-addiction/article69326021.ece
    The neuroadaptations that occur with ongoing substance use not only impair brain function but accelerate the transition from controlled to compulsive use. […] These alterations may persist long after substance use ceases, contributing to relapse vulnerability and periodic cravings even after prolonged periods of abstinence. […] A deeper comprehension of the recovery process will undoubtedly influence the development of more effective treatment and support programs. […] As our understanding of the neurobiological basis of addiction evolves, so too will our treatment approaches, potentially leading to more targeted interventions that address the specific neural circuits disrupted in addiction. […] The brain’s remarkable plasticity its ability to reorganise and adapt offers hope even in the face of addiction’s persistent challenges.
  • #91
    https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/understanding-the-neurobiological-basis-of-substance-abuse-addiction/article69326021.ece
    The neuroadaptations that occur with ongoing substance use not only impair brain function but accelerate the transition from controlled to compulsive use. […] These alterations may persist long after substance use ceases, contributing to relapse vulnerability and periodic cravings even after prolonged periods of abstinence. […] A deeper comprehension of the recovery process will undoubtedly influence the development of more effective treatment and support programs. […] As our understanding of the neurobiological basis of addiction evolves, so too will our treatment approaches, potentially leading to more targeted interventions that address the specific neural circuits disrupted in addiction. […] The brain’s remarkable plasticity its ability to reorganise and adapt offers hope even in the face of addiction’s persistent challenges.
  • #92 Drug addiction: from bench to bedside | Translational Psychiatry
    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-021-01542-0
    Some epigenetic changes are very stable, an thus mediate both drug addiction susceptibility and drug-induced brain alterations that underlie the development of drug addiction. […] To date, the three main epigenetic mechanisms consist of (1) DNA methylation, (2) action of the non-coding RNAs and (3) histone post-translational modifications (PTMs). […] Among these PTMs, the most studied is the acetylation of H3 and H4, that is increased in the NAc after chronic exposure to drugs of abuse. […] This increase in global acetylation levels is the result of drug-induced alterations in the balance of histone acetyltransferase and histone deacetylase (HDAC) function and is associated with gene activation. […] The characterisation of the role of glia and the extracellular matrix (ECM) in drug-induced synaptic plasticity is an exciting emerging field of drug addiction research as it comes with promising new therapeutic possibilities. […] The modifications in glutamatergic nuclei targeting the NAc, or the VTA and essential part of the reward circuit, are less studied than cortico-striatal synapses despite the fact that they play a crucial role in the development of drug addiction.
  • #93
    https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/understanding-the-neurobiological-basis-of-substance-abuse-addiction/article69326021.ece
    The neuroadaptations that occur with ongoing substance use not only impair brain function but accelerate the transition from controlled to compulsive use. […] These alterations may persist long after substance use ceases, contributing to relapse vulnerability and periodic cravings even after prolonged periods of abstinence. […] A deeper comprehension of the recovery process will undoubtedly influence the development of more effective treatment and support programs. […] As our understanding of the neurobiological basis of addiction evolves, so too will our treatment approaches, potentially leading to more targeted interventions that address the specific neural circuits disrupted in addiction. […] The brain’s remarkable plasticity its ability to reorganise and adapt offers hope even in the face of addiction’s persistent challenges.