With heroin deaths spiking across the country, we desperately need clear thinking on drug addiction.
A January article in the New England Journal of Medicine bolsters what’s come to be known as the brain disease model of addiction. In essence, the model views addiction from the vantage point of brain physiology. Three esteemed researchers, including National Institute on Drug Abuse head Dr. Nora Volkow and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism chief Dr. George Koob, both of whom work under the auspices of the National Institutes of Health, wrote the article, entitled “Neurobiologic advances from the brain disease model of addiction.”
The article lays out the neural pathways involved in various stages of drug abuse, such as anticipation and craving, intoxication, and withdrawal. It’s a good summary of the latest neuroscientific findings.
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