Eating a candy bar and injecting heroin each trigger a part of the brain that reinforces feeling good.
鈥淧leasure is pleasure,鈥 said Jean Bidlack, a researcher at the 麻豆视频 who is looking at a different way to treat opioid addiction.
While much of current thinking is focused on opioid receptors, Bidlack is going to look at how the neurotransmitter dopamine affects the desire for drugs.
鈥淎 candy bar will give you a little bit of dopamine release and give you pleasure,鈥 said Bidlack, a professor of pharmacology and physiology. Regular ingestion can turn into a habit, but stopping isn鈥檛 likely to fundamentally change your life.
鈥淒rugs of abuse like opioids will give you a very high dopamine level,鈥 Bidlack said. 鈥淭he brain adapts and says, 鈥業 want that high dopamine level all the time.鈥 And then when you don鈥檛 have it, that鈥檚 when the craving is very, very strong.鈥