Mount Sinai researchers have discovered how cocaine corrupts the brain and becomes addictive. These findings — the first to connect activation of specific neurons to alterations in cocaine reward — were published in Science on October 15. The results may help researchers in developing new ways of treating those addicted to the drug. Led by Mary Kay Lobo, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and first author of the study, researchers found that the two main neurons (D1 and D2) in the nucleus accumbens region of the brain, an important part of the brain’s reward...

Activating a specific brain receptor may reduce the appeal of cocaine, a new study in mice suggests. In the study, researchers studied two groups of mice. One group was normal; the other group did not have a brain receptor called CB2, which is affected by marijuana. Both groups of mice were trained to give themselves cocaine. The mice were then given a compound, JWH133, which turns off a receptor in the brain called CB2, the Los Angeles Times reports. The normal mice gave themselves less cocaine. The more JWH133 they received, the less cocaine they took. In the mice without the CB2 receptor, JWH133 did not affect cocaine use. In the journal...

A memory-boosting medication paired with behavioral therapy might help addicts stay clean, according to new animal research in the Aug. 4 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. The study suggests D-cycloserine, previously used in the lab to treat fear and anxiety disorders, could help an addict resist drugs even when confronted with drug-related cues outside of rehab.  Substance abusers have high rates of relapse, often falling back into old habits only days after they “quit.” Addictive substances are difficult to resist in part because a single environmental cue, such as a drug-related sight or smell, can trigger cravings. In...

New research sheds light on how cocaine regulates gene expression in a crucial reward region of the brain to elicit long-lasting changes in behavior. The study, published by Cell Press in the May 14th issue of the journal Neuron, provides exciting insight into the molecular pathways regulated by cocaine and may lead to new strategies for battling drug addiction.  It is well established that addictive drugs induce persistent changes in the brain’s reward circuits. Previous research has indicated that addiction to drugs such as cocaine is associated with altered gene expression in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a region of the brain that...

New research findings suggest that structural abnormalities in the brains of cocaine addicts are related in part to drug use and in part to a predisposition toward addiction

 — New discoveries by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) offer potential for development of a first-ever pharmacological treatment for cocaine addiction.  A common beta blocker, propranolol, currently used to treat people with hypertension and anxiety, has shown to be effective in preventing the brain from retrieving memories associated with cocaine use in animal-addiction models, according to Devin Mueller, UWM assistant professor of psychology and a co-author with James Otis of the research. This is the first time that a therapeutic treatment has been shown to block the retrieval of memories associated with...

People who have used cocaine run a great risk of becoming addicted, even after long drug-free periods. Now researchers at Linköping University and their colleagues can point to a specific molecule in the brain as a possible target for treatment to prevent relapses. Drugs are addictive because they “hijack” the brain’s reward system, which is actually intended to make it pleasurable to eat and have sex, behaviors that are necessary for survival and reproduction. This “hijacking” is extremely long-lived and often leads to relapses into abuse, especially when the individual is exposed to stimuli in the...

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have identified abnormal brain structures in the frontal lobe of cocaine users’ brains which are linked to their compulsive cocaine-using behaviour. Their findings were published today, 21 June, in the journal Brain. Led by Dr Karen Ersche, the Cambridge researchers scanned the brains of 120 people, half of whom had a dependence on cocaine. They found that the cocaine users had widespread loss of grey matter that was directly related to the duration of their cocaine abuse (i.e. the longer they had been using cocaine, the greater the loss of grey matter), and that this reduction in volume was...

Addictive drugs are known to induce changes in the brain’s reward circuits that may underlie drug craving and relapse after long periods of abstinence. Now, new research, published by Cell Press in the September 9 issue of the journal Neuron, uncovers a specific neural mechanism that may be linked to persistent drug-seeking behavior and could help to guide strategies for development of new therapies for cocaine addiction. Previous research has shown that the ventral tegmental area (VTA) is a brain region that is activated when cocaine users experience a craving for cocaine after being exposed to cocaine-associated cues. The medial...