How does NIDA use the terms drug abuse and addiction?
NIDA defines any illicit use of a substance as drug abuse; this includes the nonmedical use of prescription drugs. NIDA defines addiction as a chronic, relapsing disease characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences as well as neurochemical and molecular changes in the brain. NIDA’s use of the term addiction corresponds roughly to the DSM definition of dependence. The DSM does not use the term addiction. How do drugs work in the brain to produce pleasure? Nearly all drugs of abuse directly or indirectly target the brain’s reward system by flooding the circuit with dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter present in regions of the brain that regulate movement, emotion, cognition, motivation, and feelings of pleasure. The overstimulation of this system, which rewards our natural behaviors, produces the euphoric effects sought by people who abuse drugs and teaches them to repeat the behavior. Is drug abuse a voluntary behavior? The initial decision to take
