Incentive salience

Incentive salience

• addiction – a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward
• addictive drug – psychoactive substances that with repeated use are associated with significantly higher rates of substance use disorders, due in large part to the drug's effect on brain reward systems
• dependence – an adaptive state associated with a withdrawal syndrome upon cessation of repeated exposure to a stimulus (e.g., drug intake)
• drug sensitization or reverse tolerance – the escalating effect of a drug resulting from repeated administration at a given dose
• drug withdrawal – symptoms that occur upon cessation of repeated drug use
• physical dependence – dependence that involves persistent physical–somatic withdrawal symptoms (e.g., delirium tremens and nausea)
• psychological dependence – dependence that is characterized by emotional-motivational withdrawal symptoms (e.g., anhedonia and anxiety) that affect cognitive functioning.
• reinforcing stimuli – stimuli that increase the probability of repeating behaviors paired with them
• rewarding stimuli – stimuli that the brain interprets as intrinsically positive and desirable or as something to approach
• sensitization – an amplified response to a stimulus resulting from repeated exposure to it
• substance use disorder – a condition in which the use of substances leads to clinically and functionally significant impairment or distress
• drug tolerance – the diminishing effect of a drug resulting from repeated administration at a given dose