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Study Says All Drugs Stimulate Brain in Same Manner
Stanford University researchers say that all types of drugs, including
alcohol, cocaine, amphetamines, morphine, and nicotine, affect neurons in
the same part of the brain.
Researchers say they have found a key mechanism in treating addiction in a
study that shows that all drugs stimulate the brain in the same way. "What
we have identified is a single change caused by drugs of abuse with
different molecular mechanisms," said Dr. Robert Malenka of Stanford
University Medical Center, who led the study.
In a study on mice, the research team determined that all drugs make the
ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the brain hypersensitive. The VTA contains
neurons that release dopamine, a chemical associated
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 GOING-OVER
UK site that helps Overdose Victims
http://goingover.org.uk
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Some Jews Have Gene that Helps Guard Against Alcoholism
New research shows that most Jewish people are born with a gene that
appears to help prevent alcoholism.
Researchers at Columbia University in New York conducted a study that
involved 68 Jewish participants. The scientists found that 44 percent of
the participants carried a variant of the gene that produces a more active
form of alcohol dehydrogenase, the enzyme that catalyzes the first step in
the metabolism of alcohol.
Previous studies have shown that the ADH2*2 variant of the gene ADH2
prevents heavy drinking. But this...»»
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with movement,
emotional response, and pleasure.
The findings suggest that a universal approach could be used to treat
addiction. "It's just the beginning of the story, but given that it is
happening in the VTA, it is likely to lead someplace," said Malenka.|||
The study's results are published in the Feb. 20 issue of the journal
Neuron.
Saal, D., Dong, Y., Bonci, A., & Malenka, R. (2003) Drugs of Abuse and
Stress Trigger a Common Synaptic Adaptation in Dopamine Neurons.
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