Scientists Identify Brain Structures Linked to Increased Addictiveness from Repeated Cocaine Use

The University of Bristol announced that researchers have found how repetitive cocaine use increases the amount of addictiveness.

According to a report on February 10, scientists from the Federal University of Sao Paulo, Brazil and the University of Bristol Veterinary School teamed up to identify brain structures involved with cocaine use. The study was published in Biomedicines and was funded through CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior), FAPESP (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo), and CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico) in Brazil.

“Understanding behavioural changes involved in drug addiction, as well as identifying the brain structures involved in such behaviours in animal models, opens up possibilities for new therapeutic tools and interventions in the management of drug addiction,” Professor Beatriz Longo from the Federal University of São Paulo, the lead author of this study, Dr Renan Baldaia, the first author of the article, and Dr Augusto Coppi, a world-leader in 3D quantitative image analysis and Lecturer in Veterinary Clinical Anatomy at the University of Bristol, wrote in the report.

Through finding the parts of the brain involved in the neural pathways activated, the research could lead to further understanding addiction and informing the development of more effective treatment. The scientists had a focus on identifying the brain structures associated with the behavioral response to the drug, and they found that cocaine changes some of the areas of the brain’s neural pathways that lead people to have more reward and adaptive behavior.

The scientists used animal models and used a 3D quantitative image analysis technique called stereology. They analyzed the brain structures in response to repeated concaine use and identified key areas involved in the development and expression of behavioral responses to cocaine.

The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), nucleus accumbens core (NAc core), and basolateral amygdala (BLA) were found to be engaged during both the induction and expression phases of behavioral responses to cocaine.

Additionally, the ventral area of the mesencephalic tegmentum (VTA) demonstrated greater involvement in the induction phase. The findings show that repeated cocaine use leads to associative learning, where the euphoric effects of the drug become associated with the environment in which it is used. This establishes a reinforcing system, linking two stimuli to the individual's choice or compulsive desire for the drug. Environment also plays a role in activating and expressing behavioral responses to cocaine.

Plans are now in place for the researchers to identify other brain structures involved in behavioral responses for substances like marijuana, alcohol and nicotine.