Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Drug Abuse and Addiction: Pharmacological Phenomena

Drug Abuse and Addiction: Pharmacological Phenomena

Drug dependence, abuse, and addiction are complex phenomena that can precipitate various abnormal states. Physical dependence refers to a state of pharmacological adaptation to a drug. This adaptation often results in tolerance—a reduced response to the drug after repeated administrations. When the drug use is abruptly stopped, withdrawal symptoms occur due to the body's need to readjust from the pharmacologically induced imbalance. However, tolerance and withdrawal symptoms do not necessarily...

Drug Dependence

Drug Dependence

Medications are typically administered to achieve therapeutic effects. Some drugs can modify an individual's mood and perception, frequently resulting in various enjoyable experiences. However, this can result in drug dependency, a condition marked by continuous drug use despite potential negative consequences. Drug dependency primarily falls into two categories: psychological and physical dependence. Psychological dependence occurs when the pleasurable feelings induced by the drug...

Substance Use Disorders Affecting Sleep

Substance Use Disorders Affecting Sleep

Substance use disorders involve a pattern of using drugs more extensively than intended and continuing use despite harmful consequences. This includes legal substances like alcohol and nicotine, as well as illegal drugs. These disorders often involve both physical and psychological dependence, reflecting compulsive use of substances that significantly alter thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, contributing to a major public health issue.
Understanding the concepts of physical dependence,...

Decision Making

Decision Making

Decision-making is a fundamental cognitive process that involves evaluating alternatives and selecting among them. This process can range from simple choices, such as deciding what to wear, to complex decisions, like choosing a major in college or a career path. The complexity of the decision often dictates the approach we use, which can be broadly categorized into two types: automatic and controlled decision-making.
Automatic decision-making is fast, intuitive, and relies on gut feelings...

Factors Affecting Drug Response: Overview

Factors Affecting Drug Response: Overview

When it comes to infants and young children, they are typically administered smaller doses of medication in comparison to adults. This is primarily because their organ functions still need to fully develop, meaning their bodies are not as efficient at metabolizing or eliminating drugs. Additionally, their blood-brain barrier is more permeable than in adults. As a result, high concentrations of drugs can easily penetrate the central nervous system (CNS), potentially leading to neurological...

Decision Making: Traditional Method

Decision Making: Traditional Method

The process of hypothesis testing based on the traditional method includes calculating the critical value, testing the value of the test statistic using the sample data, and interpreting these values.
First, a specific claim about the population parameter is decided based on the research question and is stated in a simple form. Further, an opposing statement to this claim is also stated. These statements can act as null and alternative hypotheses, out of which a null hypothesis would be a...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

The vicarious nature of hippocampal theta sequences.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2026

Same author

Just how goal-directed are hippocampal theta sweeps, anyway?

Nature neuroscience·2026

Same author

Noncanonical NF-κB pathway driven inflammation across multiple cellular compartments identifies NIK as a therapeutic target for inflammatory bowel disease.

Frontiers in immunology·2026

Same author

V-Cheiloplasty, Step-Down Technique, and Primary Rhinoplasty in Bilateral Cleft Lip Repair: Effective Strategies for Achieving Nasolabial Harmony.

Annals of plastic surgery·2026

Same author

Evaluation and Management of Syndesmotic Injuries: A Review of the Literature.

Current sports medicine reports·2026

Same author

Coordinated Representational Drift Across the Mouse Cortex.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 3, 2026

A Prediction Error-driven Retrieval Procedure for Destabilizing and Rewriting Maladaptive Reward Memories in Hazardous Drinkers

A Prediction Error-driven Retrieval Procedure for Destabilizing and Rewriting Maladaptive Reward Memories in Hazardous Drinkers

Published on: January 5, 2018

A unified framework for addiction: vulnerabilities in the decision process.

A David Redish¹, Steve Jensen, Adam Johnson

¹Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. redish@umn.edu

The Behavioral and Brain Sciences

|July 30, 2008

Summary

Addiction arises from 10 vulnerabilities in the mammalian brain's unified decision-making system, impacting choices and leading to maladaptive drug or behavior seeking. Understanding these system flaws is key for addiction treatment and relapse prevention.

More Related Videos

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats

Published on: February 20, 2019

Chronic Intermittent Ethanol Vapor Exposure Paired with Two-Bottle Choice to Model Alcohol Use Disorder

Chronic Intermittent Ethanol Vapor Exposure Paired with Two-Bottle Choice to Model Alcohol Use Disorder

Published on: June 23, 2023

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 3, 2026

A Prediction Error-driven Retrieval Procedure for Destabilizing and Rewriting Maladaptive Reward Memories in Hazardous Drinkers

A Prediction Error-driven Retrieval Procedure for Destabilizing and Rewriting Maladaptive Reward Memories in Hazardous Drinkers

Published on: January 5, 2018

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats

Published on: February 20, 2019

Chronic Intermittent Ethanol Vapor Exposure Paired with Two-Bottle Choice to Model Alcohol Use Disorder

Chronic Intermittent Ethanol Vapor Exposure Paired with Two-Bottle Choice to Model Alcohol Use Disorder

Published on: June 23, 2023

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Behavioral Science
Psychology

Background:

Recent advances unify decision-making in the mammalian brain into interacting planning, habit, and situation-recognition systems.
This unified system is susceptible to maladaptive choices, particularly in drug and behavior seeking.

Purpose of the Study:

To identify and categorize key vulnerabilities within the unified decision-making system that contribute to addiction.
To establish a taxonomy of decision-making system flaws and their relation to addiction.

Main Methods:

The study identifies 10 specific vulnerabilities in the decision-making system.
These vulnerabilities include disruptions in homeostasis, reward signaling, valuation, learning, and decision system balance.

Main Results:

Ten key vulnerabilities were identified, providing a framework for understanding decision-making failures in addiction.
Each vulnerability is linked to specific symptomology and can drive addictive choices.
Different substances, behaviors, and individuals may exploit different vulnerabilities.

Conclusions:

The identified vulnerabilities offer insights into addiction susceptibility, the transition to addiction, and relapse.
This framework has significant implications for developing targeted addiction treatments.