Can the Brain Be Rebooted to Stop Drug Addiction?  Study traces
what happens in the brain to cause addictive behavior,
potentially paving the way for new ways to dry out
methamphetamine sign      Previous research has shown that the
drug stimulates nerve cells in the midbrain to release dopamine
into the synapses (connections between neurons) in the striatum.
Dopamine (which is connected to reward processing, motivation
and attention) is one of the brain's primary neurotransmitters,
the chemical messengers by which one neuron triggers its
neighbor to fire a nerve impulse.  In this case, Bamford says,
the excess dopamine affected the flow of information from the
cortex (the brain's central processing unit) to the striatum.
Specifically, it appeared to partially block nerve cells in the
cortex from releasing glutamate, another neurotransmitter, which
is responsible for excitation. "Dopamine provides a filtering
effect that may help you concentrate on the novel object or
pleasurable stimulus," Bamford says. Too