Question

What is responsible for the transition from the occasional or initial drug taking to habitual drug taking, and why does this not occur in everyone who has used addictive drugs? What is the

difference between the positive incentive value of a drug and the hedonic value of a drug?

Answer 1

drugs initially are done for the hedonic value, that direct hedonic value that releases dopamine into the nucleus accumbens.

later, the use becomes habitual when earning elements become connected to the experience of the drug. this is the time when the drugs become less of that hedonic value but turn into a habit.

there are various environmental cues meaning the drug almost switches to being this principally mesolimbic pathway to this nigrostriatal pathway.  

the frontal cortex gets inhibited

for the consumption of cocaine, there is no sign of addiction shown

but there are some individuals who are predisposed to becoming addicts

these individuals they tend to have a smaller prefrontal cortex.

there is majorly less inhibition of the behaviour of occurring

Positive incentive value remains stable meaning what to do that drug because you expect it to feel really good again.

Hedonic value refers to the actual good feeling you get, which eventually goes down (this includes the pathway that shows us that it has the release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens that makes the addict feel really good and really pleasurable)