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Title: Addiction: Pulling at the Neural Threads of Social Behaviors

Journal Article · · Neuron

Addiction coopts the brain's neuronal circuits necessary for insight, reward, motivation, and social behaviors. This functional overlap results in addicted individuals making poor choices despite awareness of the negative consequences; it explains why previously rewarding life situations and the threat of judicial punishment cannot stop drug taking and why a medical rather than a criminal approach is more effective in curtailing addiction.

Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
DOE - OFFICE OF SCIENCE
DOE Contract Number:
DE-AC02-98CH10886
OSTI ID:
1014357
Report Number(s):
BNL-95028-2011-JA; NERNET; R&D Project: MO-085; KP1602010; TRN: US1103117
Journal Information:
Neuron, Vol. 69, Issue 4; ISSN 0896-6273
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English