Nucleus accumbens plasticity underlies multifaceted behavioral changes associated with addiction

摘要

Drug addiction is characterized by persistent, maladaptive drug-seeking behavior and a high propensity for relapse after abstinence. Laboratory studies suggest that this phenotype can be attributed to impaired reward learning and decision making, coupled with exaggerated incentive motivation for drugs and drug-associated stimuli 1 and 2. Drug-induced plasticity in mesocorticostriatal circuits is thought to underlie these behavioral changes, with the nucleus accumbens in particular being a prominent node within the system for integrating learning and motivational information. Although much research has been done, important questions remain with regard to which specific facets of learning and motivation are altered by exposure to drugs of abuse and if drug-induced alterations in information processing in the accumbens are causal to these changes in behavior.