To better understand how to treat a cocaine addiction, doctors must first understand the affect cocaine has on the brain. According to a recent Science Daily piece, a chemical system in the brain has been identified that reacts differently in those addicted to cocaine.

The good news is that this study could help in the identification of new treatment options for individuals who are struggling with an addiction to cocaine.

Dr. Byron Adinoff is the lead author on this study – and a professor of psychiatry at UT Southwestern – and he noted that his research team identified the blood flow areas in the brain for cocaine addicts was different when compared to that of a healthy subject.

Researchers involved with this project examined the changes in the brain’s cholinergic system. Disruptions in this system have been identified in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. When animals have been studied for addiction in the past, the neurotransmitter was shown to influence how hard the animal would work to get more of a drug. These studies did not tend to examine the cholinergic system and its relation to addiction in humans.

To further explore this area, researchers examined how alterations in the cholinergic system would affect the limbic region in the brain of those subjects with a cocaine addiction. This region of the brain is known to support such functions as emotion, behavior, learning and long-term memory.

Much of the work on addiction has focused on chemicals in the brain, such as dopamine, which is often associated with the pleasure system of the brain. The problem is that many of the treatments developed to address such chemical systems have been proven ineffective at curing an addiction. Researchers hope a different approach will provide additional opportunities for treatment advances.