Fast Facts on Addiction

Here are 10 fast facts you should know about addiction, substance use, and neuroscience:

  1. Prevalence of Addiction: Addiction is extremely prevalent, with over 40 million Americans meeting the diagnostic criteria for a substance use disorder (SUD) related to drugs or alcohol.

  2. Impaired Decision-Making and Cognitive Control: Addiction impairs activity in the prefrontal cortex, making it harder for individuals to exert control over their compulsive substance use and assess its consequences.

  3. Addictive Substances Alter Reward Systems: Addiction affects the brain’s reward processing system, especially the nucleus accumbens, ventral striatum, and mesolimbic dopamine pathway, which decreases sensitivity to natural rewards.

  4. Withdrawal: Withdrawal refers to the psychological and physical symptoms that occur when someone suddenly reduces or completely stops using a frequently consumed substance. 

  5. Comorbidities: Addiction often co-occurs with other mental health disorders, such as anxiety, depression, or PTSD.

  6. Early Trauma and Stress: Childhood trauma and early-life stress are well-established risk factors for developing substance use disorders later in life.

  7. Racial/Ethnic Inequities: People of color are more likely to experience inequities in addiction treatment accessibility and face harsher legal consequences compared to their white counterparts. 

  8. Brain-Based, Not Moral: There is scientific and medical consensus that substance use disorders are best understood as brain-based conditions shaped by complex interactions among genetic, developmental, and environmental factors

  9. Neuroplasticity and Recovery: While prolonged substance use has been proven to alter brain structure and function, treatment helps restore disrupted neural pathways.

  10. Legal Protections Under the ADA: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), individuals with alcohol use disorder or in recovery from substance use disorder are protected from discrimination in employment, housing, and public services, including state and local correctional facilities.

Learn more about the science of addiction and recovery in our Resource Library.