Chunk #21 — 1 Definitions and Conceptual Framework for Reward Deficit in Alcoholism — 1.1 Theoretical Framework: Motivation, Withdrawal, and Opponent Process
The dysregulation of brain reward function associated with withdrawal from chronic administration of drugs of abuse is a common element of all drugs of abuse. Withdrawal from chronic cocaine (Markou and Koob 1991), amphetamine (Paterson et al. 2000), opioids (Schulteis et al. 1994), cannabinoids (Gardner and Vorel 1998), nicotine (Epping-Jordan et al. 1998), and ethanol (Schulteis et al. 1995) leads to increases in reward thresholds during acute abstinence, and some of these elevations in threshold can last for up to 1 week. These observations lend credence to the hypothesis that opponent processes can set the stage for one aspect of compulsivity in which negative reinforcement mechanisms are engaged.
