금단 증상(禁斷症狀, 영어: withdrawal)이란 중독을 일으키는 약물을 쓰면 신경계에 변화가 일어나고 일정기간 이상 계속 쓰면 내성과 신체 의존성이 생기는데, 이때 약물 공급이 갑자기 중단되면 나타나는 몸과 마음의 변화를 말한다. 금단 현상과 같은 말이다.
긴장감과 감정적 불편감을 해소하기 위해 특정 약물을 갈망하는 상태인 심리적 의존과, 그 약물에 대한 내성이 생겨 약물을 중단하면 여러 가지 금단 증상까지 생기는 신체적 의존이 있다.
약물 남용은 의학적인 용도외에 약물을 상습적으로 사용하여 개인의 사회적 활동이 크게 저해 받는 상태를 말한다.
약물 의존과 약물 남용이 원인이다.
또한 도박, 게임 등 일정한 행동을 지나치게 하면 중독성을 가지는데, 이를 갑자기 끊을 때 나타나는 현상을 일컫기도 한다. 청소년의 인터넷 과다 사용이나 청 장년층에서 마라톤 등의 운동, 폭식, 섹스, 텔레비전 시청까지 포함하기도 한다.
↑Malenka RC, Nestler EJ, Hyman SE (2009). 〈Chapter 15: Reinforcement and Addictive Disorders〉. Sydor A, Brown RY. 《Molecular Neuropharmacology: A Foundation for Clinical Neuroscience》 2판. New York: McGraw-Hill Medical. 364–375쪽. ISBN9780071481274.
↑Nestler EJ (December 2013). “Cellular basis of memory for addiction”. 《Dialogues Clin. Neurosci.》 15 (4): 431–443. PMC3898681. PMID24459410. Despite the importance of numerous psychosocial factors, at its core, drug addiction involves a biological process: the ability of repeated exposure to a drug of abuse to induce changes in a vulnerable brain that drive the compulsive seeking and taking of drugs, and loss of control over drug use, that define a state of addiction. ... A large body of literature has demonstrated that such ΔFosB induction in D1-type [nucleus accumbens] neurons increases an animal's sensitivity to drug as well as natural rewards and promotes drug self-administration, presumably through a process of positive reinforcement ... Another ΔFosB target is cFos: as ΔFosB accumulates with repeated drug exposure it represses c-Fos and contributes to the molecular switch whereby ΔFosB is selectively induced in the chronic drug-treated state.41. ... Moreover, there is increasing evidence that, despite a range of genetic risks for addiction across the population, exposure to sufficiently high doses of a drug for long periods of time can transform someone who has relatively lower genetic loading into an addict.
↑“Glossary of Terms”. 《Mount Sinai School of Medicine》. Department of Neuroscience. 2015년 2월 9일에 확인함.
↑Volkow ND, Koob GF, McLellan AT (January 2016). “Neurobiologic Advances from the Brain Disease Model of Addiction”. 《N. Engl. J. Med.》 374 (4): 363–371. doi:10.1056/NEJMra1511480. PMID26816013. Substance-use disorder: A diagnostic term in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) referring to recurrent use of alcohol or other drugs that causes clinically and functionally significant impairment, such as health problems, disability, and failure to meet major responsibilities at work, school, or home. Depending on the level of severity, this disorder is classified as mild, moderate, or severe. Addiction: A term used to indicate the most severe, chronic stage of substance-use disorder, in which there is a substantial loss of self-control, as indicated by compulsive drug taking despite the desire to stop taking the drug. In the DSM-5, the term addiction is synonymous with the classification of severe substance-use disorder.
