Behavioral Addiction

Behavioral addiction, also called process addiction or non-substance-related disorder, is a form of addiction involving a compulsion to engage in a rewarding non-substance-related behavior, sometimes called a natural reward, despite negative consequences to a person's physical, mental, social or financial well-being. In the brain's reward system, the gene transcription factor delta FosB has been identified as a factor common to both behavioral and drug addictions, which are associated with the same neural adaptations, and modern brain-scan technology suggests chemical and experience-based rewards produce virtually identical reactions in the organ; still, the framework for diagnosing and categorizing behavioral addiction remains a controversial topic in psychopathology.