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Neuroscience of Addiction

1998; Cell Press; Volume: 21; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0896-6273(00)80557-7

1097-4199

George F. Koob, Pietro Paolo Sanna, Floyd E. Bloom,

Memory and Neural Mechanisms

Human addictions are chronically relapsing disorders characterized by compulsive drug taking, an inability to limit the intake of drugs, and the emergence of a withdrawal syndrome during cessation of drug taking (dependence). The development of an addiction impacts on several separate neurobiological processes, and these effects are both drug- and drug use–dependent. In animal models of addiction, changes in specific neurotransmitter systems within a highly limited band of structures, including specific parts of the nucleus accumbens and amygdala, may underlie drug reward and the motivational effects associated with dependence. Changes in the signals mediated by several neurotransmitters, including dopamine, opioid peptides, and corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), and in the regulation of selected transcription factors within the neurons of this reward circuit, may underlie the vulnerability to relapse that characterizes addiction in humans.