Drug addiction study 'explores drugs cravings'

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by Change | 26 May 2009

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Drugs cravings could be related to the ability to regulate emotion, according to a new study.

A new study into drug addiction has shed light on what happens in the brain when drug users are unable to suppress cravings.

The research looked at the areas of the brain involved in monitoring emotions. It discovered that cocaine users and non-users have different levels of activity.

According to the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, where the study was carried out, understanding the variation in these levels could help our understanding of addictive vulnerability.

Lead author Rita Goldstein said: "This work gives us some clues as to what happens when drug users are unable to suppress craving and how that might work together with a decreased ability to monitor behaviour."

The study is the first of its kind that looks at two groups of drug users and non-users to look at the brain's ability to monitor behaviour and regulate emotion. Both of these capabilities are important to resisting drug use.

A recent study by Montreal Neurological Institute also looked at the reward mechanisms of the brain involved with drug addiction.

It discovered that the more cocaine someone has used, the more the brain will secrete dopamine in subsequent cocaine use. Dopamine is integral to the brain's response to reward and addictive drugs.

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