title: Addiction research and theory: a commentary on the Surgeon General's Report on alcohol, drugs, and health.
abstract: The Office of the Surgeon General recently produced its first Report on the consequences of alcohol and drug abuse on health, making several very laudable policy recommendations. The Report also emphasizes the importance of adequate funding for biomedical research, which is good news for both researchers and patients. However, the Report is marred by a biased viewpoint on the psychology and neurobiology of drug addiction. We highlight here four controversial issues that were depicted as facts in the Report, thereby potentially misleading non-expert readers about the current state-of-the-art understanding of the psychology and neurobiology of drug addiction. It will be important to recognize a fuller range of scientific viewpoints in addiction neuroscience to avoid amplifying this bias in the coming years.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.|Sussex Addiction Research and Intervention Centre (SARIC), University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6885-369X
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Badiani
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Kent C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Berridge
authors.affiliation: Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Heilig
authors.affiliation: Imperial College, London, UK.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Nutt
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Terry E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Robinson
mesh_terms: D052636:Allostasis; D015982:Bias; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000378:metabolism; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008959:Models, Neurological; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011582:Psychological Theory; D012106:Research; D012201:Reward; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone; D004298:Dopamine