Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2009 Dec 1.
Published in final edited form as: Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2008 Dec;16(6):458–474. doi: 10.1037/a0014103

Figure 2.

Figure 2

The dual deficit model of stimulant addiction. According to the model, withdrawal from chronic stimulant use leads to decreased synaptic availability of dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT). This dual deficit contributes to withdrawal symptoms, drug craving, and relapse. DA dysfunction underlies anhedonia and psychomotor disturbances, whereas 5-HT dysfunction causes depressed mood, obsessive thoughts, and lack of impulse control. Protracted withdrawal phenomena are postulated to contribute significantly to relapse. Taken from Rothman & Baumann (2003).