Drug abuse impacts neuropsychological functioning both directly by altering
neurochemistry, and indirectly by means of non-neurological systems [1]. Certainly drugs
directly impact neurochemical activity of the brain, particularly by means of a reward loop
comprised of dopaminergic tracts projecting from the nucleus acumens to the ventral
tegmental area (VTA), and then back to the nucleus acumens, frontal cortex, and amygdala
[2]. Psychostimulants target both legs of the loop, whereas other drugs indirectly impact the …