7. The Brain Is Changed—For a Long Time!
“Before I started drugs, I did great. I never had a hang-up like this. I can’t seem to get over wanting drugs, no matter how hard I try. I stay away from the stuff for weeks, but it doesn’t seem to make a difference. I keep going back.”
Why is drug addiction so long lasting? Just because drugs exert powerful actions in the brain doesn’t mean that their effects should last a long time. But they do! How do we study this?
Looking at the Drug User’s Brain
Brain imaging is a remarkably powerful tool that enables us to peer inside the skull and brain (see Figure 7-1), and measure various quantities associated with neurotransmission and drugs. There are various types of imaging that tell us different things. ...
Get The Addicted Brain: Why We Abuse Drugs, Alcohol, and Nicotine now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
