Addiction & the Brain

This is a graph that I created based on an anecdote that PhD Jennifer Sweeton shared in a training. It is meant to demonstrate that dopamine functions within the pain AND reward centers of our brain. I used meth as the substance in this graph to demonstrate the magnitude various addictions have on the brain and a person's experience, but it works to show why we engage in various behaviors within the integration of pain and reward beyond the scope of "hard" drugs.