The Science of the Addicted Brain

Many of us know the behavioral and physical consequences of addiction, but there is a whole other world of addiction, one that holds some of the keys to the causes and cures of addiction. Understanding the biology of addiction helps us to treat addiction as a chronic condition instead of a personal choice.

Drugs work by affecting neurotransmitters, which are the message carriers of the brain and the building blocks of our every action (voluntary and involuntary), thought, and emotion. Normal activity causes certain chemicals to release in the brain; these chemicals direct the activities of the neurotransmitters.

Drugs cause an unnatural release of the chemicals that control some of involuntary actions and feelings. Drugs most often cause the release of chemicals in our brain’s reward system. The brain’s reward system is an evolutionary tool; it releases pleasure chemicals when we do activities that are vital to survival. Our brain releases pleasure chemicals when we eat, have sex, and feel comfort. The same pleasure chemicals are responsible for the ‘high’ that drug users feel.

The first time a person uses a particular drug is usually the “best” in that they feel the most high and experience the greatest euphoria. This is because the drug is entirely foreign to the brain, and the body has yet to build up any defense mechanisms or tolerance. All subsequent use of the drug is an attempt to replicate the perfection of the first high. It will never happen; tolerance will begin to build after the first use. The chase for that first high, that feeling of ultimate reward, is one of the driving factors of addiction.

Craving is another factor of addiction. Craving is caused by the depletion of pleasure-inducing neurotransmitters. We do not have an unlimited supply of reward system neurotransmitters. Our body makes an amount equal to what we need to survive our daily life. The chemicals in drugs make the body release more neurotransmitters than it should, and the reward/pleasure system is left to make-do with the neurotransmitters that it has left. There are not enough neurotransmitters to make the body feel a normal level of pleasure when it should. The only way to get to (or above) the normal feeling of pleasure is to take the drug again.

This is where craving comes in; the pleasure feelings that come from activities that are linked to survival are now linked to drugs. The brain literally thinks that the body needs drugs to survive. That chemical need is translated to the actions and behaviors of an addicted person. Eventually, the body becomes as dependent on the drug as the brain and the addict will go into physically painful withdrawal when they cease taking the drug.

Chemical dependency needs to be treated by professionals who understand brain chemistry and its effects on behavior. There are ‘step-down’ types of drugs that help with the physical symptoms of withdrawal, such as suboxone. Psychologists can help by helping the addict to retrain neurotransmitters. Through therapy and rehabilitation addict’s brains relearn to release reward/pleasure chemicals at a natural rate.

The best way to guard against drug addiction is to never try drugs, but many people do try them and become ‘hooked.’ Addicts are a slave to their disrupted brain chemistry; they need firm compassion as well as professional medical attention.