video http://bigthink.com/ideas/23923
One of the key functions of the neurotransmitter dopamine is to create feelings of pleasure that our brains associate with necessary physiological actions like eating and procreating. (gives us motivation to do it again) We are driven to perform these vital functions because our brains are conditioned to expect the dopamine rush that accompanies them.
Addictive drugs flood the brain with dopamine and condition us to expect artificially high levels of the neurotransmitter. Over time, the user's brain requires more dopamine than it can naturally produce, and it becomes dependent on the drug, which never actually satisfies the need it has created.
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