The exact mapping of addiction onto SUD is an open empirical question, warranting systematic study among scientists, clinicians, and patients with lived experience. No less important will be future research situating our definition of SUD using more objective indicators (e.g., [55, 120]), brain-based and otherwise, and more precisely in relation to clinical needs [121]. Finally, such work should ultimately be codified in both the DSM and ICD systems to demarcate clearly where the attribution of addiction belongs within the clinical nosology, and to foster greater clarity and specificity in scientific discourse. Biological Research on Addiction examines the neurobiological mechanisms of drug use and drug addiction, describing how the brain responds to addictive substances as well as how it is affected by drugs of abuse. The book’s four main sections examine behavioral and molecular biology; neuroscience; genetics; and neuroimaging and neuropharmacology as they relate to the addictive process.

For the foreseeable future, the main objective of imaging in addiction research is not to diagnose addiction, but rather to improve our understanding of mechanisms that underlie it. The hope is that mechanistic insights will help bring forward new treatments, by identifying candidate targets for them, by pointing to treatment-responsive biomarkers, or both [52]. Developing innovative treatments https://curiousmindmagazine.com/selecting-the-most-suitable-sober-house-for-addiction-recovery/ is essential to address unmet treatment needs, in particular in stimulant and cannabis addiction, where no approved medications are currently available. Although the task to develop novel treatments is challenging, promising candidates await evaluation [53]. A particular opportunity for imaging-based research is related to the complex and heterogeneous nature of addictive disorders.

Genetics of addiction

But gender can impact almost every way alcohol and drug addiction manifests in a person, with everything from different body chemical compositions to different general body weights playing a role. Additionally, many neurotransmitters are involved in the experience of reward (dopamine, opioids, GABA, serotonin, endocannabinoids, and glutamate; Blum et al., 2020). Thus deficiencies in any combination of these neurochemicals may contribute to a predisposition to addiction. It is important to note that one person’s reaction to the reward experience may be quite different from another’s. This realization should help us cultivate empathy for those with addiction—it is very likely that others truly do not know how drugs make them feel. Although there is no “addiction gene” to definitively identify a person as being at risk for addiction, it is evident through twin studies, adoption studies, family studies, and more recently, epigenetic studies that addiction has a genetic component.

However, a heritability of addiction of ~50% indicates that DNA sequence variation accounts for 50% of the risk for this condition. Once whole genome sequencing is readily available, it is likely that it will be possible to identify most of that DNA variation. For clinical purposes, those polygenic scores will of course not replace an understanding of the intricate web of biological and social factors that promote or prevent expression of addiction in an individual case; rather, they will add to it [49]. Meanwhile, however, genome-wide association studies in addiction have already provided important information.

Changes That Occur in the Brain During Addiction

One model focusing on adolescent vulnerability to addiction separated primary and secondary motivational neurocircuitry (see figure 1 in [50]). The primary circuitry involves the prefrontal cortex, striatum (including the caudate and putamen), and thalamus. Parallel loops involving these structures have been proposed as primary to motivations and behaviors, including those in addictions [57, 58]. This model, as well as others, appears applicable to both substance and non-substance addictions, including behaviors related to excessive food intake and obesity [16, 60, 61].

They can be responsible for about half of a person’s risk of developing a substance use disorder. Because of this, neurobiology is a critical level of analysis for understanding addiction, although certainly not the only one. It is recognized throughout modern medicine that a host of biological and non-biological factors give rise to disease; understanding the biological pathophysiology is critical for understanding etiology and informing treatment.