Significant Effects of Cocaine on Brain Metabolism may Lead to Abuse!
Previous studies on cocaine addiction and efforts to block its addictiveness have focused on dopamine transporters, proteins that reabsorb the brain’s
?reward? chemical once its signal is sent.
Since the drug blocks dopamine transporters from doing their recycling job, it leaves the feel-good chemical around to keep sending the pleasure signal.
Now, the new study has found that cocaine’s effects go beyond the dopamine system.
In the study, cocaine had significant effects on brain metabolism, even in mice that lack the gene for dopamine transporters.
“In dopamine-transporter-deficient mice, these effects on metabolism are clearly independent of cocaine’s effects on dopamine. These metabolic factors may be a strong regulator of cocaine use and abuse, and may also suggest new avenues for addiction treatments,” said Brookhaven neuroscientist Panayotis (Peter) Thanos, who led the research.
To measure brain metabolism in dopamine-transporter deficient mice (known as DAT knockouts) and in littermates that had normal dopamine transporter levels, the researchers used positron emission tomography (PET scanning).
They tested the mice before and after cocaine administration, and compared the results to mice treated with saline instead of the drug.
Prior to any treatment, mice lacking dopamine transporters had significantly higher metabolism in the thalamus and cerebellum compared to normal mice.
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