Opiate Addiction and Responsiveness to Natural Reward

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Article Published: February 2009

This article posits a few points that will likely eventually elicit some grounds for discussion. Maybe not.
Their data suggests that opiates reduce regular opiate-users' response to appetitive stimuli - generating brain activity that is indistinguishable for both appetitive and repulsive stimuli (predictably involving the insular cortex). These subjects also seemed to express a dampened reflex to stimuli. They conclude with the suggestion that heroin-users commonly express at least one condition: anhedonia. Therefore, the researchers suggest that anhedonic symptoms of withdrawal should be targeted in addiction-therapy. Finally, they suggest that those undergoing addiction therapy should strive to avoid stimuli associated with opiates in general.