Addiction is a very controversial topic. I support the argument that addiction is actually a disease. Many people think that once you're addicted, all it takes is hard work and willpower to overcome it. On a chemical level, certain medications can block neurotransmitter receptor sites, which will then cause the brain to create more sites thinking that it needs to create more sites for more neurotransmitters. This will leave a person's brain with too many open and useless receptor sites. Additionally, some medications can mimic certain neurotransmitters and insert themselves into a receptor site. This is how your brain would make a person feel like they can't live without this substance. Eventually, after constant use of an addictive substance, a person's body will eventually become dependent on the abused substance. In the case of alcohol, scientific research shows that a certain signaling pathway in the human brain may be linked to alcohol addiction. A gene, called neurofibromatosis type 1, controls this specific pathway. Additionally, neurofibromatosis controls gamma-amino butyric acid, a chemical in the brain that increases feelings of relaxation and reduces anxiety. Scientists have discovered that this gene is associated with excessive alcohol consumption in mice. The central amygdala plays an important role in the decision-making process, as well as in addiction-related processes. This is where gamma-amino butyric acid is released into the central nervous system and has shown a significant change from recreational use to alcohol dependence. Experiments showed that mice with functional neurofibromatosis genes steadily increased their ethanol intake. Since alcohol has a plethora of negative effects on the human body and brain, this shows that alcohol addiction...... middle of paper ...... is doing its job, which was assigned to it for its evolutionary history. its organism (Millikan, 1984). Just like liver disease is considered a disease because it threatens to interfere with the functioning of the liver. But this is also completely true for addiction, in the case where brain function is threatened. Addiction steals the brain's natural reward system and causes the brain to develop a new dependence on the substance being abused (Satel and Lilienfeld, 2014). Once this happens, the addiction threatens the brain's natural functions. A person's reaction may be affected; Judgment may be affected depending on the type of substance used. Many parts of the brain can be altered when a person is addicted, disrupting normal brain functions. This information helps combat the argument that addiction is indeed a brain disease..