#Thebrain current version manual
diagnostic manual (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition or DSM-IV) describes multiple addictions, each tied to a specific substance or activity, consensus is emerging that these may represent multiple expressions of a common underlying brain process. Neuroimaging technologies and more recent research, however, have shown that certain pleasurable activities, such as gambling, shopping, and sex, can also co-opt the brain.Īlthough a standard U.S. The word “addiction” is derived from a Latin term for “enslaved by” or “bound to.” Anyone who has struggled to overcome an addiction-or has tried to help someone else to do so-understands why.Īddiction exerts a long and powerful influence on the brain that manifests in three distinct ways: craving for the object of addiction, loss of control over its use, and continuing involvement with it despite adverse consequences.įor many years, experts believed that only alcohol and powerful drugs could cause addiction. Although breaking an addiction is tough, it can be done.
Addiction changes the brain, first by subverting the way it registers pleasure and then by corrupting other normal drives such as learning and motivation. A Harvard Health article Understanding Addiction New Insights into the Causes of AddictionĪddiction involves craving for something intensely, loss of control over its use, and continuing involvement with it despite adverse consequences.
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