Researchers have pinpointed certain regions of the brain that play a role in the development of Cocaine addiction and subsequent compulsive drug-seeking behaviors.
The results, which were published in Biomedicines, pinpoint the brain structures and circuits that become active after repeated dosing. The study’s authors say they think their findings will be useful in shaping drug addiction therapy.
To this end, scientists from the University of Bristol Veterinary School in the United Kingdom and the Federal University of So Paulo in Brazil studied the brain regions of rats given Cocaine to see which ones were responsible for eliciting behavioral reactions.
Changes in various regions of the brain’s neural networks that control reward and adaptive behaviors are thought to underlie the obsessive craving for the substance in addicts, according to researchers.
The scientists used animal models and stereology, a cutting-edge method of 3D quantitative image processing, to pinpoint the precise regions of the brain that became active after prolonged exposure to cocaine.
Specifically, they found that the ventral area of the mesencephalic tegument (VTA) has greater participation in the induction phase only, while the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), the nucleus accumbens core (NAc core), and the basolateral amygdala (BLA) all take part in both the forming phase (induction) and the expressing phase (expression), of behavioral responses to cocaine.
Evidence suggests that frequent Cocaine usage can result in the formation of associative memories, linking the setting in which the drug is consumed with the pleasant feelings it produces.
There will be two cues linked with the decision to take the drug or the compulsive need to use it. Accordingly, the context is crucial for the induction and expression of Cocaine-related behaviors.
Dr. Augusto Coppi, a world leader in 3D quantitative image analysis and Lecturer in Veterinary Clinical Anatomy at the University of Bristol, and Dr. Renan Baldaia, the first author of the article, echoed these sentiments, noting that “understanding behavioral changes involved in drug addiction, as well as identifying the brain structures involved in such behaviors in animal models, opens up possibilities for developing novel treatments for addiction.”
The group plans to keep digging to find the neural circuits that are responsible for the behavioral effects of substances besides nicotine, alcohol, and cannabis.
In Brazil, the study was supported by the Coordenaço de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES), the Foundation for the Advancement of Research in the State of So Paulo (FAPESP), and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).