Research
| Chronic drug and alcohol abuse produces numerous brain changes, but relatively few have been functionally linked to addiction-related increases in drug craving and escalating drug consumption. My laboratory focused on the interaction between these neurobiological and behavioral changes. Studies integrate both forward (chronic drug use produces biological changes) and reverse (biological changes alter drug-taking and -seeking behaviors) experimental approaches in rodents. Our experiments are aimed at:
1) understanding the neural systems that regulate drug reward and craving 2) understanding how these systems adapt during the addiction process, 3) determining critical adaptations that contribute to addictive behavior itself. Much of this work is focused on dopamine receptor signaling pathways that regulate drug intake and craving responses. Our studies suggest that alterations in cyclic AMP-dependent protein phosphorylation, and downstream regulation of gene expression, contributes to escalating drug intake and a propensity for relapse by differentially altering the sensitivity of D1 and D2 dopamine receptors in direct and indirect pathways of the ventral striatum. In addition, our studies suggest that drug-induced neuroplasticity at excitatory synapses in the mesolimbic dopamine system can facilitate drug craving through specific interactions with dopamine receptors and their regulation of motivated behavior. Many of these neurobiological changes can be reversed or normalized by “extinction training” a behavioral learning procedure that may be useful in treating drug addiction seeking behavior and the propensity for relapse. Current studies are using optogenetic laser stimulation approaches to mimic or reverse addiction-related neuroplasticity in anatomically distinct pathways in addicted rodents. |
