|
|
|
Drug addiction is a hard habit to break, partly because it taps into brain mechanisms that normally promote attraction to healthier rewards. New research reported in the April issue of Nature Neuroscience suggests a potential way to decrease the appeal of drugs without affecting motivation for normal rewarding activities, such as eating.
Damage to the subthalamic nucleus -- a structure buried deep inside the brain -- reduces rats' motivation for cocaine, but increases their motivation for food. Christelle Baunez and colleagues trained a group of rats to press a lever to obtain either a food pellet or a dose of cocaine. They then lesioned the subthalamic nucleus in some of the rats, and found that these animals were less motivated to get a dose of a cocaine than a group without such damage. In contrast, animals with subthalamic lesions worked harder for food pellets than did normal controls. These results suggest that the subthalamic nucleus may represent a new target for drug addiction treatment. Curiously, modulation of the same area has previously been shown to improve Parkinson disease symptoms as well. Author contact: Christelle Baunez (CNRS UMR6155, Université de Provence, Marseille, France)
E-mail: cbaunez@up.univ-mrs.fr Also published online. (C) Nature Neuroscience press release.
Message posted by: Trevor M. D'Souza
|
|
Variants Associated with Pediatric Allergic Disorder
Mutations in PHF6 Found in T-Cell Leukemia
Genetic Risk Variant for Urinary Bladder Cancer
Antibody Has Therapeutic Effect on Mice with ALS
Regulating P53 Activity in Cancer Cells
Anti-RNA Therapy Counters Breast Cancer Spread
Mitochondrial DNA Diversity
The Power of RNA Sequencing
‘Pro-Ageing' Therapy for Cancer?
Niche Genetics Influence Leukaemia
Molecular Biology: Clinical Promise for RNA Interference
Chemoprevention Cocktail for Colon Cancer
more news ...
|