Drug addiction and its underlying neurobiological basis: neuroimaging evidence for the involvement of the frontal cortex
- PMID: 12359667
- PMCID: PMC1201373
- DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.159.10.1642
Drug addiction and its underlying neurobiological basis: neuroimaging evidence for the involvement of the frontal cortex
Abstract
Objective: Studies of the neurobiological processes underlying drug addiction primarily have focused on limbic subcortical structures. Here the authors evaluated the role of frontal cortical structures in drug addiction.
Method: An integrated model of drug addiction that encompasses intoxication, bingeing, withdrawal, and craving is proposed. This model and findings from neuroimaging studies on the behavioral, cognitive, and emotional processes that are at the core of drug addiction were used to analyze the involvement of frontal structures in drug addiction.
Results: The orbitofrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate gyrus, which are regions neuroanatomically connected with limbic structures, are the frontal cortical areas most frequently implicated in drug addiction. They are activated in addicted subjects during intoxication, craving, and bingeing, and they are deactivated during withdrawal. These regions are also involved in higher-order cognitive and motivational functions, such as the ability to track, update, and modulate the salience of a reinforcer as a function of context and expectation and the ability to control and inhibit prepotent responses.
Conclusions: These results imply that addiction connotes cortically regulated cognitive and emotional processes, which result in the overvaluing of drug reinforcers, the undervaluing of alternative reinforcers, and deficits in inhibitory control for drug responses. These changes in addiction, which the authors call I-RISA (impaired response inhibition and salience attribution), expand the traditional concepts of drug dependence that emphasize limbic-regulated responses to pleasure and reward.
Figures
Similar articles
-
Compulsivity in obsessive-compulsive disorder and addictions.Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2016 May;26(5):856-68. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2015.12.003. Epub 2015 Dec 11. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2016. PMID: 26774279 Review.
-
Addiction, compulsive drug seeking, and the role of frontostriatal mechanisms in regulating inhibitory control.Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2010 Nov;35(2):248-75. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2010.03.001. Epub 2010 Mar 17. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2010. PMID: 20223263 Review.
-
Role of dopamine, the frontal cortex and memory circuits in drug addiction: insight from imaging studies.Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2002 Nov;78(3):610-24. doi: 10.1006/nlme.2002.4099. Neurobiol Learn Mem. 2002. PMID: 12559839
-
Drug addiction. Part II. Neurobiology of addiction.Pol J Pharmacol. 2001 Jul-Aug;53(4):303-17. Pol J Pharmacol. 2001. PMID: 11990077 Review.
-
Association of methylphenidate-induced craving with changes in right striato-orbitofrontal metabolism in cocaine abusers: implications in addiction.Am J Psychiatry. 1999 Jan;156(1):19-26. doi: 10.1176/ajp.156.1.19. Am J Psychiatry. 1999. PMID: 9892293
Cited by
-
The influence of adverse childhood experiences and depression on addiction severity among methamphetamine users: exploring the role of perseveration.Front Psychiatry. 2024 May 14;15:1382646. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1382646. eCollection 2024. Front Psychiatry. 2024. PMID: 38807693 Free PMC article.
-
The secondary visual cortex mediated the enhancement of associative learning on methamphetamine self-administration behaviors.Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2024 May 3. doi: 10.1007/s00213-024-06597-7. Online ahead of print. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2024. PMID: 38702472
-
Neurobiological mechanisms and related clinical treatment of addiction: a review.Psychoradiology. 2022 Dec 16;2(4):180-189. doi: 10.1093/psyrad/kkac021. eCollection 2022 Dec. Psychoradiology. 2022. PMID: 38665277 Free PMC article. Review.
-
A randomized controlled trial of intermittent theta burst stimulation to the medial prefrontal cortex for tobacco use disorder: Clinical efficacy and safety.Drug Alcohol Depend. 2024 May 1;258:111278. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2024.111278. Epub 2024 Mar 30. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2024. PMID: 38579605 Clinical Trial.
-
Changes in distinct brain systems identified with fMRI during smoking cessation treatment with varenicline: a review.Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2024 Apr;241(4):653-685. doi: 10.1007/s00213-024-06556-2. Epub 2024 Mar 2. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2024. PMID: 38430396 Free PMC article. Review.
References
-
- Blum K, Braverman ER, Holder JM, Lubar JF, Monastra VJ, Miller D, Lubar JO, Chen TJ, Comings DE. Reward deficiency syndrome: a biogenetic model for the diagnosis and treatment of impulsive, addictive, and compulsive behaviors. J Psychoactive Drugs. 2000;32(suppl i–iv):1–112. - PubMed
-
- Koob GF, Caine B, Markou A, Pulvirenti L, Weiss F. Role for the mesocortical dopamine system in the motivating effects of cocaine. NIDA Res Monogr. 1994;145:1–18. - PubMed
-
- Di Chiara G. Drug addiction as dopamine-dependent associative learning disorder. Eur J Pharmacol. 1999;375:13–30. - PubMed
-
- Volkow ND, Wang G-J, Fowler JS, Logan J, Gatley SJ, Hitzemann R, Chen AD, Dewey SL, Pappas N. Decreased striatal dopaminergic responsiveness in detoxified cocaine-dependent subjects. Nature. 1997;386:830–833. - PubMed
-
- Liu X, Matochik JA, Cadet JL, London ED. Smaller volume of pre-frontal lobe in polysubstance abusers: a magnetic resonance imaging study. Neuropsychopharmacology. 1998;18:243–252. - PubMed
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Medical
Miscellaneous