How drug use changes the brain — and makes relapse all too common
- Select a language for the TTS:
- UK English Female
- UK English Male
- US English Female
- US English Male
- Australian Female
- Australian Male
- Language selected: (auto detect) - EN
Play all audios:
A dance with the devil. That’s how 33-year-old Elizabeth Mooney describes her struggle with drug addiction, recalling the “little voice” that repeatedly overpowered her mind after she had
been in recovery, once for as long as three years. She knows the consequences of using again, yet she’s relapsed five times. The desire became “stronger and stronger and stronger,” she said.
The opioid epidemic ravaging the United States has brought new impetus to understanding how addiction hijacks the brain. More and more, scientists are shifting their focus to what’s going
on in the brain after people like Mooney go off drugs. STAT+ Exclusive Story Already have an account? Log in THIS ARTICLE IS EXCLUSIVE TO STAT+ SUBSCRIBERS UNLOCK THIS ARTICLE — PLUS
IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS, NEWSLETTERS, PREMIUM EVENTS, AND NEWS ALERTS. Already have an account? Log in Individual plans Group plans View All Plans To read the rest of this story subscribe to
STAT+. Subscribe