Addiction: Busting Myths

In popular media, the scientific explanation of drug addiction is often portrayed as a disorder of pleasure seeking, the need for more drugs, and withdrawal symptoms that perpetuate drug use. This is then associated with a craving for dopamine which brings pleasure. I will bust these myths by showing why these claims are false and discussing current knowledge about dopamine and addiction. Peter van Ruitenbeek,
PhD, assistant professor psychopharmacology