Compulsion is a cardinal symptom of drug addiction (severe substance use disorder).
However, compulsion is observed in only a small proportion of individuals who repeatedly …

Drug consumption is driven by a drug's pharmacological effects, which are experienced as
rewarding, and is influenced by genetic, developmental, and psychosocial factors that …

The nucleus accumbens is a major input structure of the basal ganglia and integrates
information from cortical and limbic structures to mediate goal-directed behaviors. Chronic …

Ketamine is used clinically as an anaesthetic and a fast-acting antidepressant, and
recreationally for its dissociative properties, raising concerns of addiction as a possible side …

The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is a heterogeneous brain structure that serves a central
role in motivation and reward processing. Abnormalities in the function of VTA dopamine …

Although it is challenging for individuals with cocaine addiction to achieve abstinence, the
greatest difficulty is avoiding relapse to drug taking, which is often triggered by cues …

Midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons are proposed to signal reward prediction error (RPE), a
fundamental parameter in associative learning models. This RPE hypothesis provides a …

Addictive drugs have in common that they target the mesocorticolimbic dopamine (DA)
system. This system originates in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and projects mainly to the …

Midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons are not homogeneous but differ in their molecular
properties and responses to external stimuli. We examined whether the modulation of …

Long-term depression (LTD) in the CNS has been the subject of intense investigation as a
process that may be involved in learning and memory and in various pathological …