Addiction is a chronic, relapsing disorder characterised by compulsive engagement with a substance or behaviour despite harmful consequences, accompanied by impaired control, craving, and continued use in the face of adverse outcomes. It is understood as a brain disorder involving adaptations in mesolimbic dopaminer…
Addiction is a chronic, relapsing disorder characterised by compulsive engagement with a substance or behaviour despite harmful consequences, accompanied by impaired control, craving, and continued use in the face of adverse outcomes. It is understood as a brain disorder involving adaptations in mesolimbic dopaminergic reward circuitry, prefrontal regulatory systems, and stress pathways, such that repeated exposure shifts behaviour from impulsive seeking toward habitual, compulsive use, with tolerance, withdrawal, and heightened relapse risk. Both substance addictions, including alcohol, nicotine, and illicit drugs, and behavioural addictions share these features, and vulnerability is shaped by genetic, developmental, psychological, and social factors. Management spans prevention, screening, pharmacotherapy, and psychosocial interventions such as cognitive and acceptance-based therapies, alongside attention to co-occurring mental and physical illness. Research published in this area by the journal reflects these themes, including acceptance and commitment therapy for addiction-susceptible adolescents in cyberspace, self-efficacy and smoking cessation, the pineal hypothesis of drug dependence, gene-silencing approaches in dopaminergic neurons relevant to reward signalling, psychopharmacology of psychoactive compounds, tobacco- and alcohol-related epigenetic biomarkers in head and neck cancer, smoking-ban and substance-use public-health analyses, and cognition in adults ageing with chronic infection. These contributions span neurobiology, psychology, public health, and clinical management of addictive disorders.
12 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
The 12 articles above have been cited 64 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Addiction, linking to each citing work.