ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the diagnostic criteria for substance use disorders and explores the neurobiology of drug addiction. The term addiction has often been used synonymously with dependence. While drug addiction implies a dependency, addiction is a consequence of specific neural adaptations resulting from the use of drugs that affect dopamine activity in the mesolimbic and mesocortical systems. The diagnosis of substance use disorder requires that the symptoms of drug tolerance and/or withdrawal are present. The neurobiology of addiction states that though addiction certainly implies a dependency, there are also both behavioral and neurobiological features of addiction that are not present in all cases of drug dependency. Among the most remarkable features of drug addiction is the intense desire or motivation to take a drug, even in the face of serious adverse consequences, including arrest and imprisonment, termination of employment, and even an increased risk of serious disease.
