중독과 뇌 : 뇌과학적 근거부터 중독 예방교재 개발과 중독관리법안 제정까지

The Addicted Brain in the View of the Bio-Psycho-Social Model

In the early 1950s, Olds and Milner discovered the space preference phenomenon and related brain structures, and the so-called pleasure center or reward system was identified during animal experiments to test brain function by self-stimulation. Due to advances in brain imaging technology, a large body of evidence now indicates that addiction is a disease of the brain. Thereafter, substance dependence was determined to be closely related to the reward system and parts of the prefrontal cortex. Recent studies on behavioral addiction, such as pathological gambling and Internet gaming disorder, demonstrated that the neural substrate of cue-induced craving is similar to that of cue-induced craving in substance dependence. These substrates include the orbitofrontal and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices, the nucleus accumbens, the cingulate cortex, and the caudate nucleus, suggesting that substance and behavioral ad-diction could share a common neuropathophysiology. Based on this neuroscientific evidence, we developed education materials to prevent addiction. The basic component of addiction, including craving, withdrawal and tolerance, loss of impulse control, and social or occupational dysfunction are explained in the materials based on results from neuroscience studies. In addition, a legislative bill to prevent, manage, and treat addiction was introduced in 2013, regardless of the debate and controversy in Korea. The education material and legislative bill will be helpful to understand and manage patients suffering from addiction.