Читать книгу Overcoming Internet Addiction For Dummies - David N. Greenfield - Страница 53

Several areas of the brain are involved in addiction, including the ventral tegmental area (VTA), substantia nigra, amygdala, anterior cingulate, prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and nucleus accumbens (see Chapter 2 for details on the brain). The nucleus accumbens is the main area in the limbic pleasure region of the brain; it’s a dense bundle of cells where a very large number of dopamine receptors reside. Dopamine is one of the major excitatory neurotransmitters responsible for pleasure and movement, and along with serotonin and norepinephrine, also has a lot to do with mood, reward, motivation, pleasure, and compulsion — as well as numerous frontal lobe functions. (Neurotransmitters are chemicals that enable nerve cells to communicate with one another.)

The development of the nucleus accumbens and the dopamine reward system seems to mature in its dopaminergic efficacy sometime in the mid-teens, resulting in a powerful desire for fun and pleasure.