Physiology

and
Neurobiology
of
Brain
Withdrawal syndrome

Frontal Cortex

Corpus Callosum

Planning, Strategizing, Logic,

Judgment

Connects Hemispheres
Creativity and Problem
Solving

Cerebellum
Coordinates muscles/
movement and thinking
processes

Thalamus
Nucleus
accumbens
Extended Amygdala
Emotional responses:
fear and anger

Ventral
tegmental
area

Locus
coeruleus

Hippocampus
Forms Memories
Coordinates thinking

Dopamine Pathways: Reward, Pleasure, Euphoria,

Motor Function, Decision making

Prefrontal cortex
Hippocampus
Nucleus
accumbens

Ventral
tegmental
area

Raphe
Serotonin Pathways: Mood, Memory, Sleep, Cognition

 Dopamine is released in the NAc following electrical stimulation

Serotonin is manufactured in the brain and the intestines.
The majority of the body's serotonin, between 80-90%, can be
found in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. It can also be found in the
blood platelets and the central nervous system (CNS)
Neurons in the LC produce a chemical, noradrenaline (NA), and
distribute it to other parts of the brain where it stimulates
wakefulness, breathing, blood pressure, and general alertness,
among other functions
NAc causes feelings of pleasure from dopamine that released by
VTA

Reward Pathway
There is a axonal network in the brain
labeled the reward pathway
This reward pathway is activated by:
Food, water and sex, activities (such as
sky diving, paragliding etc) and exercise

This reward pathway is also activated by drugs

and alcohol

Reward Pathway
Neurotransmitters and anatomical sites involved in
the acute reinforcing effects of drugs of abuse
Dopamine

Opioid Peptides

Ventral tegmental area,

nucleus accumbens

Nucleus accumbens,
amygdala, ventral
tegmental area

GABA

Glutamate

Amygdala, bed nucleus

of stria terminalis

Nucleus accumbens

Reward Pathway: Brain

Areas

Prefrontal
Cortex

Nucleus
Accumbens
(NAc)

Ventral
Tegmental
Area (VTA)
Locus Coeruleus

Withdrawal: Brain Areas

Frontal Cortex

Thalamus

Ventral
Tegmental
Area (VTA)

Amygdala

Locus Coeruleus
The thalamus is activated when
drugs of abuse are abruptly ceased

LC has projections to
frontal cortex, limbic
cortex, and