This paper presents a biopsychological theory of drug addiction, the ‘Incentive-Sensitization
Theory’. The theory addresses three fundamental questions. The first is: why do addicts …

What roles do mesolimbic and neostriatal dopamine systems play in reward? Do they mediate
the hedonic impact of rewarding stimuli? Do they mediate hedonic reward learning and …

Advances in neurobiology permit neuroscientists to manipulate specific brain molecules,
neurons and systems. This has lead to major advances in the neuroscience of reward. Here, it …

Some people who repeatedly use stimulant drugs, such as amphetamine (AMPH), develop
an AMPH-induced psychosis that is similar to paranoid schizophrenia. There has been, …

… & ROBINSON, TE (1998a) The infl uence of environment on the induction of sensitization to
… & ROBINSON, TE (1998b) Modulatory effect of environmental stimuli on the susceptibility to …

In recent years significant progress has been made delineating the psychological components
of reward and their underlying neural mechanisms. Here we briefly highlight findings on …

We present a brief overview of the incentive sensitization theory of addiction. This posits that
addiction is caused primarily by drug-induced sensitization in the brain mesocorticolimbic …

… First, drug-taking may increase dramatically over time as an addiction develops, but the
pleasure induced by a given dose of a drug is not reported to increase (see note 5 in Robinson & …

Twelve normal men performed 1-min incremental exercise tests to exhaustion in approximately
10 min on both treadmill and cycle ergometer. The maximal O2 uptake (VO2 max) and …

Persistent changes in behavior and psychological function that occur as a function of
experience, such those associated with learning and memory, are thought to be due to the …