Addiction redefined as chronic brain disease

What is addiction, exactly? After four years of work involving 80 experts, including input from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) has released a new definition of addiction, according to an article in ScienceDaily: addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory, and related circuitry.

The new definition includes two significant changes:

1. It emphasizes the role of the parts of the brain that trigger rewards and genetic factors of addiction. Emphasis is normally placed on bad choices and behavioral weaknesses. This new classification defines addiction as a medical issue that requires treatment, not just a moral issue.
2. It describes addiction as a “primary, chronic disease.” This means that addiction does not always stem from other causes such as emotional issues. Moreover, addiction needs to be managed and monitored over the long term, much like diabetes and other chronic diseases.

ASAM’s full definition of addiction can be read here.