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The Biology of
Addiction
By Dr. Springer
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse)
defines addiction 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… Its structure and
how it works, forever!

What is Drug Addiction?
To feel good
 To feel better
 To do better
 Curiosity (Everyone’s doing it)
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Why do people take drugs?
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Environmental factor
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Shy or aggressive classroom behavior
Poor school performance
Poor social coping skills
Affiliation with deviant peers
Perceptions of approval of drug-abusing
behaviors in environment (school, peers,
home)
Peers and School
Addiction is a developmental disease that
typically begins in childhood.
 Prefrontal cortex: affects regulation,
emotional control, sound decision-making,
higher level thinking.
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◦ Develops rapidly during adolescence
◦ Substances interfere with normal development
of this area
Addiction and the Brain
Healthy Brain Development
3 Areas affected
by drug abuse
1- Brain Stem: Controls
functions critical to life.
I.e. heart rate, breathing
2- Limbic System: The
brain’s reward circuit.
It is highly implicated by
emotions
3- Cerebral Cortex:
Controls specific functions.
It enables us to see, feel,
hear, and taste. The
frontal cortex is the
reasoning center of the
brain.
Drugs decrease brain function
Drugs tap into the brain’s communication
system and interfere with the way
neurons normally send, receive and
process info.
 All drugs of abuse directly/indirectly
target the brain’s reward system by
flooding the circuit with Dopamine.
 Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that
indirectly regulates emotion, cognition,
and pleasure.

How do drugs affect the brain?
Our brains are “hard-wired” to appreciate
and to pursue natural rewards because of
their critical survival value.
 Drugs activate the same circuits that
motivate eating and sexual behavior.
 Eventually cravings for the drugs can
exceed those for food or sex.
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Drugs and Addiction
When drugs are taken, they release 2-10
times the amount of dopamine that
natural rewards do!
 This overwhelms the reward circuit in the
brain as well as changes brain function.
 This results in the brain trying to get back
to its natural levels, and thus stops
producing and/or receiving dopamine (the
crash).
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Drugs vs. Natural Rewards
Chronic exposure to drugs disrupts the
way critical brain structures interact to
control behavior.
 In other words, drug addiction erodes a
person’s self-control and ability to make
sound decisions.
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Other changes in the brain
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Addiction is similar to
other diseases such
as heart disease.
Both disrupt the
normal, healthy
functioning of the
underlying organ,
have serious
consequences, are
preventable,
treatable, and if left
untreated, can last a
lifetime.
Diseased Brain & Heart
Compulsion: Obsession with alcohol
and/or drugs
 Control: Inability to stop using
 Consequences: Continue to use despite
adverse consequences

The Three C’s of Addiction
Meth Abuser Brain Imaging
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Strong/positive family bonds
Parental monitoring of children’s activities
Clear rules; consistently enforced
Success in school
Bond with an institution (church)
Understanding conventional norms about
abuse
Proactive Factors