| Addiction and dependence glossary |
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- addiction – a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward
- addictive drug – psychoactive substances that with repeated use are associated with significantly higher rates of substance use disorders, due in large part to the drug's effect on brain reward systems
- dependence – an adaptive state associated with a withdrawal syndrome upon cessation of repeated exposure to a stimulus (e.g., drug intake)
- drug sensitization or reverse tolerance – the escalating effect of a drug resulting from repeated administration at a given dose
- drug withdrawal – symptoms that occur upon cessation of repeated drug use
- physical dependence – dependence that involves persistent physical–somatic withdrawal symptoms (e.g., delirium tremens and nausea)
- psychological dependence – dependence that is characterized by emotional-motivational withdrawal symptoms (e.g., anhedonia and anxiety) that affect cognitive functioning.
- reinforcing stimuli – stimuli that increase the probability of repeating behaviors paired with them
- rewarding stimuli – stimuli that the brain interprets as intrinsically positive and desirable or as something to approach
- sensitization – an amplified response to a stimulus resulting from repeated exposure to it
- substance use disorder – a condition in which the use of substances leads to clinically and functionally significant impairment or distress
- drug tolerance – the diminishing effect of a drug resulting from repeated administration at a given dose
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Addiction vulnerability is an individual's risk of developing an addiction during their lifetime. There are a range of genetic and environmental risk factors for developing an addiction that vary across the population. Genetic and environmental risk factors each account for roughly half of an individual's risk for developing an addiction; the contribution from epigenetic (inheritable traits) risk factors to the total risk is unknown. Even in individuals with a relatively low genetic risk, exposure to sufficiently high doses of an addictive drug for a long period of time (e.g., weeks–months) can result in an addiction. In other words, anyone can become an individual with a substance use disorder under particular circumstances. Research is working toward establishing a comprehensive picture of the neurobiology of addiction vulnerability, including all factors at work in propensity for addiction.