Drug addiction is a chronic illness characterized by high rates of relapse. Relapse to drug use can be triggered by re-exposure to drug-associated cues, stressful events, or the drug itself after a period of abstinence. Pharmacological intervention to reduce the impact of relapse-instigating factors offers a promising target for addiction treatment. Growing evidence has implicated an important ...

As the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, glutamate plays an undisputable integral role in opiate addiction. This relates, in part, to the fact that addiction is a disorder of learning and memory, and glutamate is required for most types of memory formation. As opiate addiction develops, the addict becomes conditioned to engage in addictive behaviors, and these behaviors can be tri...

The last two decades have seen significant advances in our understanding of the brain circuitry and molecular changes that drive the addiction process. However, relapse to drug taking continues to represent a significant impediment to the successful treatment of addiction. Indeed, treatment options such as effective pharmacotherapies are lacking, particularly in the case of psychostimulant addi...

Chronic vulnerability to relapse is a formidable challenge for the treatment of drug addiction. The neurobiological basis of relapse and its prevention has, therefore, attracted major attention in addiction research. Current conceptualizations of addiction recognize craving as a central driving force for ongoing drug use, as well as for relapse following abstinence. Progress has been made in un...

Alcohol addiction is a chronic relapsing brain disease characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse consequences. A main challenge of treatment prevent relapse, which occurs in more than >50% newly abstinent patients with disorder within 3 months. In people suffering from addiction, stressful events, drug-associated cues and contexts, re-exposure small amo...