Skip to content Skip to a section

🔁Overview

Addiction · Compulsive seeking when reward prediction and control circuits tip.

Reviewed 2026-08·Sources & research·Methodology·Media credits

At a glance
Score intensity

Darker cells mean a higher score for this topic on that metric.

Last reviewed Sources & creditsMedia creditsMethodology

Quick answers

Where should I start with Addiction?

Read Overview → Anatomy → Function, then use compare rails.

Is this page advice for Addiction?

Educational atlas — not a diagnosis, treatment plan, or medical advice.

What does the local lens add?

It names everyday desks for Disorders before English norms look universal.

Are the scores a ranking of Addiction?

No — editorial 0–100 browsing aids inside this atlas only.

How do I compare Addiction to neighbours?

Use related cards and best-of / quiz rails after the first three chapters.

Which chapter is densest?

Anatomy and Function carry mechanisms; skim Overview first.

Start with this section - Overview

Addiction sits at the centre of reward learning gone sticky — spanning molecules, circuits, behaviour and clinic.

Scores rank research, awareness, complexity, clinical weight, plasticity and debate relative to other topics.

Pillars

Pillar 1: reward learning gone sticky

A core angle on Addiction — how reward learning gone sticky shows up in labs, clinics and daily cognition.

Pillar 2: reward learning gone sticky

A core angle on Addiction — how reward learning gone sticky shows up in labs, clinics and daily cognition.

Pillar 3: reward learning gone sticky

A core angle on Addiction — how reward learning gone sticky shows up in labs, clinics and daily cognition.

Pillar 4: reward learning gone sticky

A core angle on Addiction — how reward learning gone sticky shows up in labs, clinics and daily cognition.

Key facts

Fact 1

Addiction fact 1 about reward learning gone sticky, grounded in converging evidence.

Fact 2

Addiction fact 2 about reward learning gone sticky, grounded in converging evidence.

Fact 3

Addiction fact 3 about reward learning gone sticky, grounded in converging evidence.

Fact 4

Addiction fact 4 about reward learning gone sticky, grounded in converging evidence.

Fact 5

Addiction fact 5 about reward learning gone sticky, grounded in converging evidence.

Fact 6

Addiction fact 6 about reward learning gone sticky, grounded in converging evidence.

Use atlas maps and section pages as teaching context — never as diagnosis.

Sources & research

  1. Neural systems of reinforcement for drug addictionEveritt BJ; Robbins TW · 2005 · Nature NeuroscienceDOIPubMed
  2. The neural basis of addictionKoob GF; Volkow ND · 2010 · NeuropsychopharmacologyDOIPubMed
  3. Addiction as a brain disease revisedHeilig M; et al. · 2021 · NeuropsychopharmacologyDOIPubMed

Media credits

Keep exploring

More in Disorders

🌫️

Alzheimer's Disease

Progressive dementia driven by protein pathology and network failure.

Research 74
🤲

Parkinson's Disease

Dopamine circuit loss, movement symptoms and non-motor features.

Research 54

Stroke

Sudden vascular injury — time, territory and the race to recover.

Research 64

Epilepsy

Hyperexcitable networks, seizures and modern treatment options.

Research 95
🌧️

Depression

Mood circuits, stress biology and evidence-based interventions.

Research 66
🌀

Schizophrenia

Perception, belief and cognition when predictive models go awry.

Research 93
💢

Migraine

Sensory gain, aura and the brain’s recurrent pain networks.

Research 74
📱

ADHD

Attention control, impulsivity and developmental self-regulation.

Research 51
🧩

Autism Spectrum

Neurodevelopmental diversity in social communication and sensory processing.

Research 89
🧬

Multiple Sclerosis

Immune attack on myelin — disconnection across white-matter highways.

Research 80
🩹

Traumatic Brain Injury

Mechanical insult, diffuse injury and the long arc of recovery.

Research 87
😰

Anxiety

Threat circuitry, worry loops and avoidance — how brains over-predict danger and how care can recalibrate risk.

Research 86
⚖️

Bipolar Disorder

Mania, depression and the networks between — mood-state biology, sleep disruption and evidence-based stabilising care.

Research 84
🛡️

PTSD

Trauma memory, hyperarousal and avoidance — how threat learning overgeneralises and how evidence-based care supports recovery.

Research 87