ABSTRACT
The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) defines addiction as A primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry. Dysfunction in these circuits leads to characteristic biological, psychological, social and spiritual manifestations. This is reflected in an individual pathologically pursuing reward and/or relief by substance use and other behaviors. Addiction is characterized by inability to consistently abstain, impairment in behavioral control, craving, diminished recognition of significant problems with one's behaviors and interpersonal relationships, and a dysfunctional emotional response. At least three domains characterize addiction: its phenomenological features, family history/genetics, and neurobiological processes. The occurrence of addiction involves factors of genetics, environment, and interactions between the two; the impacts of genetics are moderate to high. Neurobiological processes of addiction capture the fundamentals of addiction, and help us understand the nature of addiction and its implications for treatment and recovery. Neuroadaptation is the result of the brain's repeated and chronic exposure to drugs or addictive behavior/process.
