The Science of Addiction

Natural reward systems exist in the brain. Neurons transmit messages in the brain by passing chemical and electrical signals through the brain's pathways. In the center of the brain is the reward pathway which reinforces behavior. It makes us feel good when we act in ways that are vital for our survival. Examples: eating, drinking and sex. The pathway is connected to other necessary areas in the brain, this is so because it enables the reward pathway to gather information about what is happening outside the body. Also to strengthen the brain circuits that are responsible for desirable behavior. The reward pathway makes a person feel good when he/she participate in beneficial behavior and tries to make sure the person repeats the action as often as possible. It does this by connecting to regions of the brain that control memory and behavior. The memory remembers that eating food makes you feel good which inflates the chances for you to eat again. The neurons that transmit the chemical and electrical signals communicate through the synapse. At the synapse the electrical signals are translated into chemical signals in order to cross the gap, but on the other side the signal is electrical.

Drugs can change the synapses in the brain. They pass the senses and floor the reward pathway to cause a jolt of intense pleasure. The brain tries to adapt by minimizing the numbers of dopamine receptors at the synapse. Areas around the reward pathway are affected as well. Examples: judgment, learning and memory. If a user were to quit using the drugs they could go through serious withdrawals. The drug users become hard-wired. After they become hard-wired behavior becomes a habit, and then a reflex. But because the brain has adapt to the drug, every time a person wants to use the drug, they have to increase the dose. A large dose of the drug can kill the user.