For the individual who does not abuse or has not developed an addiction to drugs, it can be difficult to understand why a person continues to use a potentially dangerous substance. There are some addicts who watch as their life is completely torn apart, and yet they still continue to abuse a substance that brings them nothing but heartache.

While this makes no sense to the non-user, a recent Science Daily release examines research from The Scripps Research Institute, the University of Tokushima Graduate School in Japan and the National Institutes of Health Animal Center to get a more clear understanding. According to their findings, the compulsive use of drugs does not stem from the pleasurable effects the drug delivers, but from an aversion to withdrawal from the drug.

The study provided keen insight into explaining the changes the brain goes through when drug addiction exists. In the past, research has suggested that drugs like heroin or cocaine stimulate the pleasure centers in the brain and therefore, motivate the user to continue to take the drug. What has been harder to study is the role that withdrawal plays in inhibiting the pleasure centers in the brain and producing motivation for use.

Researchers involved in this particular study note that it provides the missing piece that scientists have been trying to investigate for years. Examining withdrawal had always been important in drug research and now there is actual data to demonstrate that it plays an important role in addiction-like behaviors.