Addiction-related brain regions

The term "addiction-related brain regions" usually refers to a collection of interconnected brain structures critically involved in the development, maintenance, and relapse of substance use disorders and addictive behaviors. Core regions include the nucleus accumbens, prefrontal cortex (including orbitofrontal and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices), amygdala, insular cortex, ventral tegmental area, dorsal striatum, caudate nucleus, and others. These structures form the key components of the brain's reward, motivation, executive function, stress, and emotional regulation circuits, and are implicated in distinct phases of addiction such as binge/intoxication, withdrawal/negative affect, and craving/preoccupation. Neurotransmitter systems relevant to these circuits include dopamine, glutamate, opioid peptides, and others. While individual components (such as specific receptors or enzymes within these regions) may be valid drug targets, the collective label "addiction-related brain regions" does not denote a molecular entity or a specific pharmacological target. This entry is not a canonical drug target and should be further specified (e.g., to a particular receptor or enzyme in a defined brain region) for use in structured pharmacological or molecular databases.

Other names

addiction neurocircuitryreward pathwayaddiction brain circuitsaddiction-relevant regionsneuroanatomic substrates of addiction