Natural rewards, neuroplasticity, and non-drug addictions. Neuropharmacology 2011 Dec;61(7):1109-22
Date
04/05/2011Pubmed ID
21459101Pubmed Central ID
PMC3139704DOI
10.1016/j.neuropharm.2011.03.010Scopus ID
2-s2.0-80052971027 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 200 CitationsAbstract
There is a high degree of overlap between brain regions involved in processing natural rewards and drugs of abuse. "Non-drug" or "behavioral" addictions have become increasingly documented in the clinic, and pathologies include compulsive activities such as shopping, eating, exercising, sexual behavior, and gambling. Like drug addiction, non-drug addictions manifest in symptoms including craving, impaired control over the behavior, tolerance, withdrawal, and high rates of relapse. These alterations in behavior suggest that plasticity may be occurring in brain regions associated with drug addiction. In this review, I summarize data demonstrating that exposure to non-drug rewards can alter neural plasticity in regions of the brain that are affected by drugs of abuse. Research suggests that there are several similarities between neuroplasticity induced by natural and drug rewards and that, depending on the reward, repeated exposure to natural rewards might induce neuroplasticity that either promotes or counteracts addictive behavior.
Author List
Olsen CMAuthor
Christopher M. Olsen PhD Associate Professor in the Pharmacology and Toxicology department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AnimalsBehavior, Addictive
Brain
Exercise
Exploratory Behavior
Food
Humans
Neuronal Plasticity
Neurons
Reward
Sexual Behavior
Sexual Behavior, Animal
