by Lisa Frederiksen
“All addictive substances send dopamine levels surging in the small central zone of the brain called the nucleus accumbens, which is thought to be the main reward center [located in the Limbic System]. Amphetamines induce cells to release it directly; cocaine blocks its reuptake; alcohol and narcotics like morphine, heroin and many prescription pain relievers suppress nerve cells that inhibit its release.”
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“Researchers now postulate that addiction requires two things. First is a genetic vulnerability, whose variables may include the quantity of dopamine receptors in the brain: Too few receptors and taking the drug is not particularly memorable, too many and it is actually unpleasant. Second, repeated assaults to the spectrum of circuits regulated by dopamine, involving motivation, expectation, memory and learning, among many others, appear to fundamentally alter the brain’s workings.”
The above are two direct quotes from Abigail Zuger’s, June 13, 2011, article, “Profiles in Science | Nora D. Volkow, A General in the Drug War.”
Dr. Volkow is the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). I urge you to read the entire article, hyperlinked above. The better we all understand addiction (whether it’s to drugs or alcohol) for what it is — a brain disease — the more able we will be to prevent and/or intervene in the progression of the brain disease of addiction.
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Good information. I also thought she was wonderful in the HBO Addiction video. Thanks for sharing her quotes and link.
I love the HBO Addiction video!! And here’s the link for readers who may not know of it, yet: http://www.hbo.com/addiction.