Monoamine Neurotransmitters and Drug Addiction

Abstract

Drug addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain disease. Various addictive drugs act on the reward circuit and eventually cause changes in the release of neurotransmitters, resulting in a rewarding effect. Among them, the monoamine neurotransmitters 5-hydroxytryptamine, norepinephrine and dopamine play an essential role in drug addiction. The role and mechanism of monoamine neurotransmitters in drug addiction are reviewed and discussed.