Addiction research has a long history, but it is only recently that experimental psychologists and neuroscientists have begun to investigate the cognitive aspects of addictive behaviours. This has revealed a complex inter-play of cognitive mechanisms that subserve subjective experiences associated with addiction, such as drug craving. This has led to a marked increase in interest in the potential of such research to elucidate, for example, the processes that may lead to relapse following abstinence.

Although research into the relationship between cognitive processes and addictive behaviours is currently an area of substantial growth and interest, this book has brought together the state-of-the-art in this research. As the field matures such a monograph is timely and will serve to capture the current state of knowledge, as well as identifying directions for future research.

Within the book, current research and theoretical models have been synthesised by leading authors in the field of cognition and addiction, with a particular emphasis on widely investigated substances of abuse such as alcohol, nicotine, cocaine and opiates. The individual authors, all of whom are high profile researchers of international standing, have provided a series of chapters that cover mechanisms that underpin cognitive processes in addiction and their application to specific addictive behaviours.