Linking the Neurobiological Basis and Behavioral Features of Craving

Since the 90s, craving has been a crucial concept in addictions. It is an issue where there exist a continuous disagreement on its definition, the way to measure it, and its utility in clinical predictions. In the field of science, having a precise concept is a necessity. So, in this chapter, we will precisely define craving, describing all the psychological events and their correlation to neural pathways. The paradigms we base on are post-Skinnerian behaviorism, neuroscience, and neural networks. Post-Skinnerian behaviorism refers to Radical Behaviorism and the new insights of verbal behavior that are explained by the Relational Frame theory. We present all the known triggers of craving and how the brain processes this information, emphasizing neurotransmitters and the neural circuits of addiction. Dopamine has a complex mechanism in addiction, craving, and learning, in which other transmitters are involved too. Those molecules are, among others, glutamate, GABA, norepinephrine, and corticotrophin-releasing hormone. These circuits interconnect to each other in a web type of neural net, and all the stimuli are computationally analyzed. From this analysis emerge a goal-directed behavior. Thus, it is vital to describe every component of craving, the modifiable ones and those that could not be. The neurobiological and behavioral features of craving are understood more profoundly nowadays. Therefore, we now have a brighter future for research on addiction and clinical guidelines.