The Addicted Brain: Why We Abuse Drugs, Alcohol, and Nicotine

14. What Does the Future Hold?

There are many themes in this book. One is that a drug addict is someone who has lost (at least some) control over his or her ability to seek and take drugs, and this loss of control leads to distress and problems for the drug user. Almost all drugs that humans abuse are also self-administered by animals, suggesting that drug taking is an innate drive that is widespread in many species. Moreover, many studies show that drug taking is involved with specific physiological systems in the brain. Because drug taking adversely alters brain chemistry, we can develop medications to reverse these negative changes; in fact, many useful medications have already been developed. Drug abuse produces long-lasting (months to years) ...