Interaction Between Habitual and Goal-Directed Processes in Addiction

Are individuals suffering from addiction in control of their drug use behavior, and is this control habitual or goal-directed? The habit theory of addiction posits that compulsion and the emergence of addiction arise from the progressive dominance of drug habits over goal-directed behaviors. According to this theory, maladaptive habits resulting from drug-induced alterations in the brain would persist in conditions that should reengage goal-directed control, which could explain the maintenance of drug use when the drug is no longer pleasurable and when its use leads to disastrous consequences. In contrast, detractors of the habit theory of addiction argue that the capacity of control is maintained in addiction and that drug use results from goal-directed choices, driven by the expected effects of the drug. In this chapter, I argue that the capacity of control fluctuates in addiction and that the interaction between habitual and goal-directed processes may help understanding this fluctuation.