Beating Drug Addiction

Ivanhoe Newswire

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Beating drug addiction is a long, difficult road. But it may be easier for cocaine users than others because of what cocaine does to the user's brain. Understanding those changes may also help pave the way for more effective treatments for drug addiction.

Neurons rely on dendritic spines for communication. When these spines become too dense, it can have major implications on the way information is processed in the brain and may influence addiction-related behaviors. Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas found chronic cocaine exposure reduced myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2) -- targets for an enzyme that is linked to increased dendritic spine density.

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The researchers unexpectedly found expression of an overactive form of MEF2 that blocks cocaine-induced spine density was associated with an enhanced behavioral sensitivity to cocaine, suggesting the cocaine-induced increases in dendritic spine density may limit behavioral changes associated with drug addiction rather than support them.

"A better understanding of the MEF2-associated molecular mechanisms that regulate cocaine-induced structural and behavioral plasticity could ultimately lead to the development of improved treatments for drug addiction," Christopher W. Cowan, Ph.D., from the department of psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, was quoted as saying.

SOURCE: Neuron, 2008

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