Neuroeconomics: Implications for understanding the neurobiology of addiction

Although still in the early stages, neuroeconomics-the union of ethology, economics, and neuroscience-offers a potentially powerful way to study the neural mechanisms underlying reward, punishment, and decision making, as well as the dysfunction of these systems in pathological conditions such as addiction. These neural processes interact in important ways with systems evaluating social context and uncertainty, and their study may lead to potent insights and testable predictions relevant to the neurobiology of addiction. Therefore, the neuroeconomic approach itself serves as a powerful new conceptual method that is likely to be critical for progress in understanding addictive behavior.