  Neuronal mechanisms underlying addiction have been attracting attention in
neurobiology, economics, neuropsychiatry, and neuroeconomics. This paper
proposes a possible link between economic theory of addiction (Becker and
Murphy, 1988) and neurobiological theory of bidirectional synaptic plasticity
(Bienenstock, Cooper, Munro, 1982) based on recent findings in neuroeconomics
and neurobiology of addiction. Furthermore, it is suggested that several
neurobiological substrates such as cortisol (a stress hormone), NMDA and AMPA
receptors/subunits and intracellular calcium in the postsynaptic neurons are
critical factors determining parameters in Becker and Murphy's economic theory
of addiction. Future directions in the application of the theory to studies in
neuroeconomics and neuropsychiatry of addiction and its relation to stress at
the molecular level are discussed.
