Although a number of circuits with different neurotransmitters connect to and run through the ventral tegmentum, the main tracts use dopamine. Other important tracts use serotonin, norepinephrine, or endorphin. Let’s look further at what neurotransmitters are…

Only within the last several decades have we begun to understand why a person will use a substance compulsively, regardless of the consequences, even to the point of death.

The key to understanding…

Addiction is nothing new, as we can see from the above quotation, in which the biblical writer paints a hauntingly accurate picture of the devastation caused by alcohol addiction. Alcoholism, drug addiction, and addictive behaviors…

If genetics accounts for better than 50 percent of the risk, what accounts for the remaining percentage? A lot of things do. Going back to our infectious model, comparison of addiction and infectious…

Although we know that the risk for alcoholism runs in some families, it is not clear exactly what genes cause the increased risk. (There is good evidence that several genes are involved.)

Most…

Why would you decide to experiment with drugs and alcohol at all? This decision depends to a large extent on the type of family and community that you come from. If you are…

If you are struggling with addiction, you probably did not intend for it to happen. People who begin using moodaltering substances usually have a number of reasons for doing so.

Most of…

Most of us have grown up valuing self-control, sober judgment, and self-reliance. We look at addiction as a disgrace - something to be ashamed of. It represents lack of…

Identifying the exact point at which the use of a substance constitutes an addiction ought to be easy, but it is not.

Confu- sion arises because we are limited to observing…

How do you know if you have a problem with addiction? How do you know if a loved one does? How much is too much? At what point does social drinking become problem drinking,…

Internet addiction appears to be a common disorder that merits inclusion in DSM-V. Conceptually, the diagnosis is a compulsive-impulsive spectrum disorder that involves online and/or offline computer usage (1, 2) and consists…