The physiological stress response is responsible for the maintenance of homeostasis in the
presence of real or perceived challenges. In this function, the brain activates adaptive …

Addiction is caused, in part, by powerful and long-lasting memories of the drug experience.
Relapse caused by exposure to cues associated with the drug experience is a major clinical …

Fear is a graded central motive state ranging from mild to intense. As threat intensity
increases, fear transitions from discriminative to generalized. The circuit mechanisms that …

The repeated use of drugs that directly or indirectly stimulate dopamine transmission carry
addiction liability and produce enduring pathological changes in the brain circuitry that …

Allostasis, originally conceptualized to explain persistent morbidity of arousal and autonomic
function, is defined as the process of achieving stability through physiological or behavioral …

The endogenous cannabinoid system is an important regulatory system involved in
physiological homeostasis. Endocannabinoid signaling is known to modulate neural …

Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone (CRH) or Corticotropin-Releasing Factor (CRF) and its
family of related naturally occurring endogenous peptides and receptors are becoming …

Drug dependence is a chronically relapsing disorder that places an enormous strain on
healthcare systems. For treatments to have long-term clinical value, they must address the …

Stress and anxiety play an important role in the development and maintenance of drug and
alcohol addiction. The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), a brain region involved in …

A common feature of drugs of abuse is their ability to increase extracellular dopamine levels
in key brain circuits. The actions of dopamine within these circuits are thought to be …