(Image: Baler and Volkow, Drug addition: the neurobiology of disrupted self-control.  Trends in Molecular Medicine 12:559-56, 2006.) Legend:  Blue oval (prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate gyrus)Red oval (nucleus accumbens and ventral pallidum)Green oval (orbital frontal cortex)Purple oval (hippocampus and amygdala) This schematic explains the changes in brain chemistry seen in addiction.  Under normal circumstances (non-addiction), the prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate gyrus provide cognitive control over impulses produced in the orbitofrontal cortex (NO GO!).  In the addicted brain, the loss of control (i.e. loss of inhibition) on those impulses produced by the orbitofrontal cortex allows those impulses to occur (GO!) The nucleus accumbens/ventral pallidum are the reward centers in the brain.  Frequent drug abuse (or activity that stimulates chemicals in the brain which may act like drugs) enhances the reward signal in the nucleus accumbens/ventral pallidum, which respond by overstimulating the orbitofrontal cortex giving the GO! signal.   Interesting work being done in neuroscience.
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(Image: Baler and Volkow, Drug addition: the neurobiology of disrupted self-control.  Trends in Molecular Medicine 12:559-56, 2006.)

Legend: 

Blue oval (prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate gyrus)
Red oval (nucleus accumbens and ventral pallidum)
Green oval (orbital frontal cortex)
Purple oval (hippocampus and amygdala)

This schematic explains the changes in brain chemistry seen in addiction.  Under normal circumstances (non-addiction), the prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate gyrus provide cognitive control over impulses produced in the orbitofrontal cortex (NO GO!).  In the addicted brain, the loss of control (i.e. loss of inhibition) on those impulses produced by the orbitofrontal cortex allows those impulses to occur (GO!)

The nucleus accumbens/ventral pallidum are the reward centers in the brain.  Frequent drug abuse (or activity that stimulates chemicals in the brain which may act like drugs) enhances the reward signal in the nucleus accumbens/ventral pallidum, which respond by overstimulating the orbitofrontal cortex giving the GO! signal.  

Interesting work being done in neuroscience.


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