Parenting and addiction: neurobiological insights

Addiction remains a significant public health concern that affects multiple generations within families, and in particular the early relationship between parents and their developing child. This article will discuss recent advances in our understanding of the neurobiology of parenting and addiction. Specifically, the discussion will focus on the reward-stress dysregulation model of addicted parenting, which proposes that the dysregulation of stress and reward neural circuits by addiction represents a neurobiological pathway through which to understand how caregiving may be compromised in addicted parents. Empirical research in parents and non-parents will be discussed in support of this model and critical consideration of the model and its limitations will be provided.