Addiction is a chronic relapsing disorder characterized by the loss of control over drug
intake, high motivation to obtain the drug, and a persistent craving for the drug …

We revisit our hypothesis that drug addiction can be viewed as the endpoint of a series of
transitions from initial voluntarily drug use to habitual, and ultimately compulsive drug use …

Drug addiction can take control of the brain and behavior, activating behavioral patterns that
are directed excessively and compulsively toward drug usage. Such patterns often involve …

Cocaine addiction is a complex and multifaceted process encompassing a number of forms
of behavioral plasticity. The process of acquiring and consuming drugs can be sufficiently …

The striatum plays a key role in mediating the acute and chronic effects of addictive drugs,
with drugs of abuse causing long-lasting molecular and cellular alterations in both dorsal …

Exposure to addictive drugs causes changes in synaptic function within the striatal complex,
which can either mimic or interfere with the induction of synaptic plasticity. These synaptic …

Addictive drugs remodel the brain's reward circuitry, the mesocorticolimbic dopamine (DA)
system, by inducing widespread adaptations of glutamatergic synapses. This drug-induced …

Highlights•Obesity and addiction result in diminished D2 receptor availability in striatum.•D2
receptors control compulsive eating.•DREADDs and optogenetics have revealed a key role …

OBJECTIVE: A primary behavioral pathology in drug addiction is the overpowering
motivational strength and decreased ability to control the desire to obtain drugs. In this …

In this review we discuss the evidence that drug addiction, defined as a maladaptive
compulsive habit, results from the progressive subversion by addictive drugs of striatum …