This paper reviews recent developments in the neurocircuitry and neurobiology of addiction
from a perspective of allostasis. A model is proposed for brain changes that occur during the
development of addiction that explain the persistent vulnerability to relapse long after drug-
taking has ceased. Addiction is presented as a cycle of spiralling dysregulation of brain
reward systems that progressively increases, resulting in the compulsive use and loss of
control over drug-taking. The development of addiction recruits different sources of …