Nerves Excited By Addiction Take Over Other Areas Of The Brain

Opioid Receptors In Brain's Attention Center Are One Center Of Addiction

by Harris Jensen, MD

Editor, Good Day Journal

The tricky thing about addiction is how slowly and secretively it happens.  Over a period of months to years, a person gradually loses track of what happens when he uses a substance.  He looks the other way at the consequences, making way for more and more use of a certain substance:

alcohol, sugar, carbohydrates, large portions of food, crystal methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana...the list goes on.

Why do people lose focus on the consequences of what they are doing?  They are focusing on the consequences of their driving, most likely, and not getting into accidents, right?  Why just look the other way at the results of use of a substance?  Why not focus on "getting off" on the substance when the consequences are bad?

The reason is that networks of neurons can take over key areas of the brain, such as the anxiety center and attention center and depression center--and if a person thinks about not using the substance then these nerves can "whip" that person's brain--and make them feel sad or anxious or unfocused.  Punish the brain for thinking of leaving the drug of abuse!

And if the person sees or hears and feels or somehow senses anything to do with the drug of abuse: then these addicted neurons will reward the brain, calming the anxiety center, stimulating the attention center, calming the depression center.

The brain's attention center has been taken over by nerves that are electrically excited by contact with the substance of abuse--such as even seeing a picture of it.  How bizarre!

The attention center is a key center for addiction.  Addicted neurons often move in on it and take it over.  A key piece of the machinery of the attention center, or nucleus accumbens, is it's outer shell has lots of opiate receptors, hence it is a key player in opiate addiction.  Normally, the opiate receptors help a person feel good, anticipating a reward in the future, while a person is focusing on a job.  The focusing neurons are on the middle core of the nucleus.

The following study is amazing.  Here they literally photographed and tagged the opiate receptor laden cells that are taken over in addiction.  In so many addicctions, a person reports they literally can't feel good looking at doing anything in the future, unless they have their substance of abuse in their veins, and in their brains. 

For more, see this link: Nucleus.