What brain changes occur when someone takes drugs? The majority of drugs affect the brain's "reward circuit", which creates pleasure and gives the brain the chemical messenger dopamine. If the reward system works well, people are motivated to continue doing things that will help them flourish. Dopamine boosts are what cause reinforcement of harmful but pleasurable behaviors, such as drug use. The reward circuit causes people to repeat the same behaviour.
Drug use over time will make the reward circuit's ability to respond less to stimuli. This will continue regardless of how long the person continues using drugs. Tolerance is the process of decreasing the sensations that the person gets from the drug. Ingesting more of this chemical might give them the same effect. People often find that their brains are changing and they can't enjoy the same activities they once enjoyed, like eating, participating in sexual activity, or socializing.
Long-term abuse can cause cognitive and behavioural problems. It can alter brain chemical systems and circuits. Long-term drug use is an addiction that many people continue to use, despite the obvious dangers.
Why is it that some people can't overcome their drug addiction while others can. There aren't any single traits that can predict if someone will become drug dependent. Many factors can affect your chances of becoming addicted. The more predisposing traits a person has, the higher their chances of becoming addicted to drugs.
