Researchers the the University of Pittsburgh have learned that drug cravings can be stopped at the synaptic level. More specifically, a chemical receptor known as CP-AMPAR has been shown to be essential in the maturation process of synapses which send drug cravings (cocaine in this study) in the brain. The researchers have shown that cravings can be eliminated or greatly reduced by the removal of this chemical which stops the growth of these synapses thus rendering them 'silent'.
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Researchers the the University of Pittsburgh have learned that drug cravings can be stopped at the synaptic level. More specifically, a chemical receptor known as CP-AMPAR has been shown to be essential in the maturation process of synapses which send drug cravings (cocaine in this study) in the brain. The researchers have shown that cravings can be eliminated or greatly reduced by the removal of this chemical which stops the growth of these synapses thus rendering them 'silent'. The implications of this are important for the development of medicines that can interfere with the development of CP-AMPAR. Once developed, these medicines have promised to ease the effects of withdrawal which often leads to relapse.
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