Between Abstinence and Dependency: Understanding the Brain and Behavioral Correlates of Reward Learning in Occasional Stimulant Users

When young adults leave home to pursue a career or higher education, they face a variety of new challenges. New ways of thinking and working, along with obligatory time constraints, make focus and a good work ethic essential to thrive. In today's culture, some young adults resort to using prescription stimulants at moments when particular attentiveness is required. For instance, a majority of university students that illegally use prescription stimulants report doing so to stay awake and focus while studying (). The perceived effectiveness of these stimulants along with their commonplace nature may lead some individuals to become occasional stimulant users (OSUs). However, this infrequent usage may also lead to more regular consumption and risk of developing stimulant dependency in the fut...

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