The Science of Addiction: Genetics and the Brain
Drugs Affect the Body and the Brain
Take a look at several drugs and their effects on the body.
The brain shows distinct changes after drug use that can persist long after that use is stopped.
Learn how drugs affect other pathways in the brain.
The faster a drug gets to the brain, the more likely it is to be addicting.
Many drugs can result in death by overdose.
Genetics and Addiction
Genetic susceptibility to addiction is the result of the interaction of many genes.
Build a pedigree for a family afflicted with nicotine addiction.
Learn how researchers hunt down genes.
The reward pathway funcions in much the same way in mice as it does in people.
Drugs and the Reward Pathway
Learn about this important brain pathway, which drives motivation, reward, and behavior.
Look inside the brains of mice on drugs.
See how methamphetamine affects a dopamine synapse.
Opioids and Pain Pathways
Learn why pain is helpful, how it works, and how opioids and other drugs relieve it.
Opioid use causes changes in the body that quickly decrease the drug's effect over time.
Social Factors
Impacts the Reward Pathway
An individual’s social environment influences addiction risk.
Understanding the neurobiology of addiction is leading to new treatments, but addiction remains a medical challenge.
Experts discuss some common misconceptions that lead to stigma. Shifting away from stigma helps to promote harm reduction strategies and better outcomes.
If you use drugs when you’re an adolescent, you are more likely to develop lifetime addiction.
- Credits
- Funding
The content here is based upon work funded by the Utah State Board of Education (2018/19) and a Science Education Drug Abuse Partnership Award (SEDAPA), from The National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health; Grant Number R25DA15461.
The contents provided here are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the funders.