Neurological Processes of Addiction

By William Leach

Board certified in addiction medicine, Dr. William Leach of Florida offers clinical and support services. Dr. William Leach is the medical director of the Darryl Strawberry Recovery Center in St. Cloud, Florida, and is a noted advocate for the compassionate care of individuals struggling with addiction.

Introduction

In recent decades, researchers have determined that addiction, once thought to be a character flaw, is actually a neurological disease. Scientists now believe that they have traced the issue back to a process in the brain that connects the experience of pleasure with the reward feedback loop that causes a person to repeat a particular behavior. When drugs, alcohol, or other addictive substances enter the body, or when a person participates in an addictive experience, the brain releases extremely high levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine. This, in turn, causes the person to experience intense pleasure.

About Addiction

The real issue of addiction, however, arises when dopamine reacts with a neurotransmitter known as glutamate to affect the brain's reward circuit. This process evolved as a way of motivating human beings to perform those tasks necessary for survival, such as eating and engaging in sexual intercourse, by associating those tasks with pleasure and compelling the person to seek them out. In the addicted brain, the addictive behavior becomes one of those necessary tasks, and the person is neurologically compelled to seek it out.

Conclusion