Last week, I shared on dealing with addictions with emphasis on why addictions happen, and how it's usually for a reason in the first place. Please find it here.

Today, I wish to briefly explain how addiction is developed in the brain to help us understand the process it takes for us to become addicted to drug, alcohol, or in a particular activity we’ve found ourselves helpless about.

While you consume alcohol, you may not be bothered about the chemical reactions the molecules go through in your body. As a chemist myself, every substance’s reactions, or absence of any, once in contact with another is very important. It’s always a wonder how things can be broken into their chemical reactions and used to explain their functions.

Remember we are all matter. And so we all contain molecules and atoms. Drugs not exempted.

Drugs contain molecules that can merge with the brain’s communication system and disrupt the way the nerve cells normally send, receive and process information. Some drugs like cannabis, and heroin have a similar chemical structure to the neurotransmitters naturally produced in the brain. This similarity allows them to bind to the receptors and activate the nerve cells and send extra strong messages.

Neurotransmitters are the chemical message by which neurons communicate with each other. While the neurons are specialized cells that perform two actions: they receive information from other neurons, and also modify their own activity accordingly.

Other drugs like cocaine, and ecstasy cause the neurons to release huge amounts of the neurotransmitters. They can also prevent them from switching off by blocking the process by which they are metabolized. As a result, the signaling system isn’t turned off and the brain is flooded with neurotransmitters.

In essence, drugs influence the process of information by imitating the brain’s natural chemical messengers (neurotransmitters), and, by overstimulating the pleasure zone of the brain - the reward pathway.

Drugs of abuse increase the activity of dopamine (a type of neurotransmitter) in the reward pathway of the brain. The reward pathway is the part of the brain that crosses the emotions (limbic) and connects with the decision making (cortex) part of the brain, thus reinforcing a behavior because it produces a pleasurable feeling.

Dopamine is important in the control of the mood, emotions, development of new memories, feelings of pleasure and thought patterns. It is usually produced when we are cued by a stimulus paired with a reward. It is that feeling of euphoria we experience when we are engaged in something that is important for our survival like sex, eating, human connections and interaction, or anything that promises us a reward of pleasure after it’s done. Substances of abuse, or any activity we constantly engage in that had become addictive only work to overstimulate this natural ‘high’ feeling which makes us want to do more in order to have that pleasurable feeling, again and again.

The over stimulation of the reward pathway when we use drugs of abuse or develop an addiction to work, sex, or any activity, sets in motion a reinforcing pattern that teaches us to repeat the behaviour.

Over time, the brain adapts to the surges in the dopamine as the drug use, or particular activity is continued by producing less dopamine on its own – the brain may become dependent on the activity or drug use for the ‘high’ feelings to occur. This is called neuroadaptation, and it is influenced by the way the brain balances by constantly adapting and changing to function in a way that we can act and feel normal. A phenomenal also known as homeostasis.

What happens is this: when we are using a drug, an alcohol, or involved in an activity we have become too involved with, we alter the function of the brain to release its own dopamine. We then upset the balance, and as a result, the brain tries to balance by trying to minimize the effect of the drug, and get back to normal.

To continue reading please find complete post here:
http://joyiseki.com/how-we-develop-an-addiction/