Addiction

OTC and Prescription Drug Abuse Slideshow Pictures Health Risks of Alcohol Abuse Slideshow Pictures

Medical Author:

Maureen C Nash, MD, MS

Coauthor:

Jessica B Johnson

Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

View Full Profile

• Addiction Overview
• Addiction Causes
• Addiction Symptoms
• Common Characteristics of Destructive Addictions
• Common Characteristics of People with Addictions
• When to Seek Medical Care
• Questions to Ask the Doctor
• Addiction Treatment
• Medical Treatment
• Medications
• Surgery
• Other Therapy
• Next Steps
• Prevention
• Support Groups and Counseling
• For More Information
• Web Links
• Synonyms and Keywords
• Authors and Editors

Addiction Overview

The current model to explain addiction suggests that addiction begins with the basic pleasure and reward circuits in the brain, which involve the chemical dopamine. These reward centers are designed to activate during pleasurable acts such as eating. Whenever ingesting a substance causes these reward circuits to activate, addiction and dependence is possible. However, addictive behaviors that are considered damaging or destructive have characteristics that distinguish them from normal behavior (see common characteristics of destructive addictions. Examples of common destructive addictions are alcohol intoxication, alcoholism, cocaine abuse, drug dependence and abuse, methamphetamine abuse, narcotic abuse, and substance abuse.

People with addictions often cannot quit on their own. Addiction is an illness that requires treatment. Treatment may include counseling, behavioral therapies, self-help groups or medical treatment. People often assume that those with addictions should be able to quit by simply making up their minds to do so. Addiction is thought to be possible for a wide range of chemical substances. Dependence, most often related to physical symptoms, can occur for a subset of the chemicals that cause addiction. For instance, rarely an individual is prescribed a medication by a doctor for a legitimate reason (such as pain after an injury) and this can lead to physical withdrawal symptoms if this medication is stopped. Even more rarely, this post-medical treatment drug dependence can lead to drug abuse. People with drug abuse problems are individuals whose brain biochemistry has been altered by alcohol or drugs.

• The words addiction, drug addiction, alcoholism, and chemical dependency are common terms for abuse of alcohol or drugs.



• Addiction (or drug abuse) is often confused with dependence.



• Many drugs can affect the brain. Some of these cause changes in behavior and can result in dependence or abuse.



• Dependence is the development of withdrawal symptoms after use of a substance is stopped. It can happen with the subset of chemical substances that are psychologically or physically habit-forming. Dependence is characterized by tolerance. Tolerance occurs when the body becomes less responsive to a specific amount of a substance, thereby causing the person to increase the amount of drug intake to achieve the previous effect. Well-defined physiological or psychological symptoms may occur upon withdrawal.