Abusing drugs likecocainecan cause a harmful restructuring of the brain as fresh connections form that reinforce the desire to repeatedly use the drug , lead in cravings and contributing to addiction . And while the continual reshaping of nervous pathways is something that run on inside all of our brains , new inquiry hint that the connections that form in response to cocaine use are driven by a unequalled and unexpected mechanics .
fit in to a new study in the journalBiological Psychiatry , drug - relate memories are encoded into the brain thanks to the action of astrocytes . Named for their wizard - like soma , astrocytesare generally thought of as backup cells that assist neuron to serve , yet the find of their role in create new brain connections – or synapses – opens all sorts of new possibilities for the handling of drug addiction .
In verity , astrocyte are much more than just the wit ’s janitors . During the early stage of the brain ’s development , these cells release betoken proteins call thrombospondins ( TSPs ) that facilitate the formation of synapses . Yet TSP levels decline greatly once the brain is fully developed as astrocytes take a back - tail end in the synapse formation cognitive operation .
Intriguingly , though , a 2014 study found that astrocyte - free TSP step-up greatly in the brains of betrayer forthwith after they are given cocain . This finding give wage hike to the so - called “ neuronal rejuvenation theory , ” which proposes that sure drugs trigger early developmental mechanisms to restructure the adult mind circuits necessitate inaddiction .
To investigate , the source of the latest subject area observe the activity of astrocyte in the brains of rats as they ego - administeredcocaine , while also supervise the animals ’ habit-forming behaviors . Unsurprisingly , the gnawer quickly get a craving for the drug and repeatedly searched for it after it was taken out .
This new behavior coincide with synaptic remodeling in an domain of the mentality call the core group accumbens , which is part of the advantage circumference and plays a role in both encyclopaedism and habituation . In other countersign , cocaine - interrelate memories had become encode into the scum bag ’ brainiac , make them to become dependant on the drug .
However , by blocking the release of TSP in the nucleus accumbens , the researchers were able to prevent the formation of new synapses in response to cocain . As a consequence , the rats did not develop any habit-forming behaviors and did not go forward to search for the drug after it had been take .
Summing up the importance of disrupt this process , study author Yan Dong explained in astatementthat “ memories associated with drug of abuse can be extremely long-wearing and often trip drug lapse even after farsighted abstinence . ” Having revealed the role of astrocytes in create these memory , the researchers conceive it may now be potential to target this pathway for prevent relapse in those recovering from dependency .
