Lower dopamine receptor quantities cause cravings to bring dopamine back to balance
Just how important dopamine receptors are to substance use was illustrated by a study of mice that had previously been trained to drink alcohol. They were given an “infusion” of dopamine receptors right into the nucleus accumbens. Before the infusion these rodents had fewer than normal dopamine receptors. The receptors were incorporated into a harmless virus that entered the animals’ brain cells so that, temporarily, a normal range of receptor activity was achieved. As long as this artificial supply of dopamine receptors was available, the mice reduced their alcohol intake considerably—but they gradually became boozers again as the implanted receptors were lost to natural attrition, which thereby keeps driving the addict to use the drug simply to make up for the loss of dopamine activity.
References
- Mate, Gabor. (2010). In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts Close Encounters with Addiction Chapter 15. Cocaine, Dopamine, and Candy Bars The Incentive System in Addiction (EPub p. 207). Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books
Metadata
Type:🔴 Tags: Biology / Neuroscience / Biochemistry / Neurochemistry Status:⛅️