Chunk #23 — 1 Definitions and Conceptual Framework for Reward Deficit in Alcoholism — 1.1 Theoretical Framework: Motivation, Withdrawal, and Opponent Process
In a within-system neuroadaptation. “the primary cellular response element to the drug would itself adapt to neutralize the drug’s effects: persistence of the opposing effects after the drug disappears would produce the withdrawal response” (Koob and Bloom 1988). Thus, a within-system neuroadaptation is a molecular or cellular change within a given reward circuit to accommodate overactivity of hedonic processing associated with addiction resulting in a decrease in reward function.
