SCIENCE MATTERS –
July 24, 2025 – Moving toward saying no to drugs, cravings, and risky choices. The brain is a master controller, organized into large-scale neural networks that directly affect whether people with addictions break free or surrender.
Research has identified a key site, the action mode network (AMN), offering potential current and future ideas for more readily resolving addictions. This network supports goal-directed behavior, including making decisions, carrying out actions, and adjusting behavior.
In a 2025 paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Badke D’Andrea and colleagues used high-resolution fMRI scans to identify four subnetworks within the AMN, including decision, action, feedback, and bodily self. The AMN–Decision subnetwork weighs options and chooses between competing goals, while the AMN–Action subnetwork carries out chosen actions. AMN–Feedback monitors results of actions and adjusts behavior.
