Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 26, 2026

Comprehensive Analysis of Transcription Dynamics from Brain Samples Following Behavioral Experience
Published on: August 26, 2014
Addiction
A R Lingford-Hughes1, S J C Davies, S McIver
1Psychopharmacology Unit, School of Medical Sciences, University of Bristol, UK.
Abstract:
Alcohol and psycho-active substance misuse has far-reaching social, psychological and physical consequences. Advances in neuroimaging technology have allowed neurobiological theories of addiction to become better characterized. We describe the neurobiology of dependence, withdrawal, abstinence and craving states in alcohol, stimulant and opiate misuse. Structural neuroimaging techniques such as CT and MRI with new analytical approaches such as voxel-based morphometry have shown wide-spread changes in stimulant and opiate abuse and atrophy, particularly in the frontal lobes, in alcoholism. Functional neuroimaging techniques such as PET, SPECT and fMRI reveal altered regional cerebral activity by all drugs of abuse. The neurochemistry of addiction, particularly involving dopamine, serotonin, opiate and GABA, has been studied with PET and SPECT and similarities between all drugs of abuse have been found such as reduced dopaminergic markers. The evidence derived from these advances in neuroimaging is likely to herald the emergence of new biological treatments in this important field.
Related Concept Videos
Drug Abuse and Addiction: Pharmacological Phenomena
Drug Dependence
Substance Use Disorders Affecting Sleep
Understanding the concepts of physical dependence,...
Stimulants
Cocaine can be administered via snorting, injection, or smoking. It primarily functions by blocking the reuptake of dopamine, resulting in a euphoric high characterized by an intense sensation of happiness and...
Desensitization and Tachyphylaxis
Several...
CNS Depressants: Alcohol and Nicotine

