A British study has claimed that drug addiction leads to abnormalities in the brain, which interfere with impulse control. Previous studies have also showed a link between drug addiction and brain abnormalities. However, it was not clear whether the abnormalities are caused by the addiction or were they present before addiction.

The study was conducted by the researchers of Cambridge University. For the study, the researchers compared the brain of addicted children with the brain of their non-addicted siblings. During the study, it was found that the brain of the siblings also had same weaknesses.

This made the researchers conclude that the weakness in the brain is inherited by the family. Brian resists addiction because of environmental factors and because of the difference in the structure of the brain.

The lead researcher of the study, Karen Ersches, said, "Presumably, the siblings must have some other resilience factors that counteract the familial vulnerability to drug dependence. An individual's predisposition to become addicted to stimulant drugs may be mediated by brain abnormalities linked to impaired self-control".

For the study, the researchers studied 50 pairs of biological siblings. In all the pairs, one was addicted to drugs while the other was not. The study was taken to a higher level by comparing the brain of healthy people with unrelated, addicted people.

It is estimated that as many as 200 million people are in the habit of consuming illicit drugs, every year. The incidence is higher in developed and wealthy countries. Every year, thousands of kids succumb to death because of drug abuse.

From time to time, governments of various countries have drafted policies to deal with the increased cases of drug abuse, but no concrete change has been experienced yet.