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How do addictions work?

Best Answers

Over time, the brain adapts in a way that actually makes the sought-after substance or activity less pleasurable. In nature, rewards usually come only with time and effort. Addictive drugs and behaviors provide a shortcut, flooding the brain with dopamine and other neurotransmitters. read more

Addiction involves craving for something intensely, loss of control over its use, and continuing involvement with it despite adverse consequences. Addiction changes the brain, first by subverting the way it registers pleasure and then by corrupting other normal drives such as learning and motivation. read more

Stories about how addiction has ruined lives are common in our society today. Reports of the lengths addicts will go to and the dark acts they will commit to get drugs, like crack cocaine, heroin and even alcohol, abound -- serving as cautionary tales to keep others from following the same path. read more

Addiction is defined as a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. It is considered a brain disease because drugs change the brain; they change its structure and how it works. read more