These brain adaptations often lead to the person becoming less and less able to derive pleasure from other things they once enjoyed, like food, sex, or social activities. They might take more of the drug to try and achieve the same high. This reduces the high that the person feels compared to the high they felt when first taking the drug-an effect known as tolerance. Surges of dopamine in the reward circuit cause the reinforcement of pleasurable but unhealthy behaviors like taking drugs, leading people to repeat the behavior again and again.ДЄs a person continues to use drugs, the brain adapts by reducing the ability of cells in the reward circuit to respond to it. A properly functioning reward system motivates a person to repeat behaviors needed to thrive, such as eating and spending time with loved ones. Most drugs affect the brain's 'reward circuit,' causing euphoria as well as flooding it with the chemical messenger dopamine. What happens to the brain when a person takes drugs? Treatment plans need to be reviewed often and modified to fit the patientвЂ™s changing needs. As with other chronic health conditions, treatment should be ongoing and should be adjusted based on how the patient responds. It's common for a person to relapse, but relapse doesn't mean that treatment doesnвЂ™t work.

These brain changes can be persistent, which is why drug addiction is considered a 'relapsing' disease-people in recovery from drug use disorders are at increased risk for returning to drug use even after years of not taking the drug. The initial decision to take drugs is voluntary for most people, but repeated drug use can lead to brain changes that challenge an addicted personвЂ™s self-control and interfere with their ability to resist intense urges to take drugs. Addiction is a chronic disease characterized by drug seeking and use that is compulsive, or difficult to control, despite harmful consequences.

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