Concept of Addiction as a Brain Disease Affecting Memory, Circuitry, and Motivation

Addiction: A Disease of the Brain
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Addiction: A Disease of the Brain
Inaba and Cohen (2014) stated in their research that addiction is a brain disease. In my opinion, I agree with the authors that addiction is a brain disease since addicts do not control their urge of drug intake. A person addicted to drugs has an impaired ability to stop using them due to the dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex. In particular, the prefrontal cortex facilitates delaying a reward, self-monitoring, and integrating an individual’s urge of drugs with the libido (Bierer, 2016). The craving coming from the brain makes a person start searching for drugs when one smells or sees someone using them.
Addiction is a disease that influences the brain’s reward, memory, circuitry, and motivation to the extent that self-care and healthy behaviors are replaced by addictive behaviors. The prefrontal cortex that controls an individual’s judgment and impulse control is damaged. That is why an addict craves for drugs to “feel normal.” A disease can be defined as the deteriorating changes in human body function or structure that are accompanied by biopsychosocial dysfunction (Heilig et al., 2021). If one is addicted to alcohol, the smell of beer can disrupt the individual from engaging in a deep conversation.
Overall, one of the advantages of con...