Etna J E Engeli, Niklaus Zoelch, Andreas Hock, Carlos Nordt, Lea M Hulka, Matthias Kirschner, Milan Scheidegger, Fabrizio Esposito, Markus R Baumgartner, Anke Henning, Erich Seifritz, Boris B Quednow, Marcus Herdener
Cocaine addiction is characterized by overwhelming craving for the substance, which drives its escalating use despite adverse consequences. Animal models suggest a disrupted glutamate homeostasis in the nucleus accumbens to underlie addiction-like behavior. After chronic administration of cocaine, rodents show decreased levels of accumbal glutamate, whereas drug-seeking reinstatement is associated with enhanced glutamatergic transmission. However, due to technical obstacles, the role of disturbed glutamate homeostasis for cocaine addiction in humans remains only partially understood, and accordingly, no approved pharmacotherapy exists...
June 29, 2020: Molecular Psychiatry