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Addiction is a chronic brain disease, scientists claim
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
Addiction is a chronic brain disease, according to a new definition from the American Society for Addiction Medicine, USA Today reports. It's not just alcohol and drugs, but also gambling and compulsive eating, doctors say, which is why treating addiction, like any chronic disease, takes a long time.
"Behavior problems are the result of brain damage," the publication quotes Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, as saying. "And the brain damage persists for many years after a person stops using drugs."
The brain is a complex interplay of emotional, cognitive, and behavioral patterns. This process is influenced by genetics (people who experimented with drugs as teenagers or took strong painkillers after an injury are more susceptible to addiction), age (the frontal lobes, which help stop unhealthy behavior, are among the last to mature, so teenagers have a harder time breaking an addiction), and the fact that they use alcohol or drugs to cope with stress. Dopamine in the hypothalamus creates a connection between taking something and getting pleasure, which persists even when the use of these substances no longer brings pleasure due to addiction.
Understanding that certain brain reactions are at the root of addiction problems should help overcome social stigmas, addiction experts say.
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