cocaine produces intoxication through its initial effects in the brain’s limbic system, and we are beginning to understand the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the drug’s later developing and longer lasting effects of craving and relapse vulnerability.

The Brain Limbic System (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

cocaine produces intoxication through its initial effects in the brain’s limbic system, and we are beginning to understand the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the drug’s later developing and longer lasting effects of craving and relapse vulnerability. Among the most intriguing of these mechanisms is elevation of the genetic transcription factor ΔFosB, a molecule that lasts for approximately 2 months and theoretically can promote neuron structural changes that have potentially lifelong persistence. The most important goal for the next decade is to translate the knowledge we have already gained, along with any future advances we make, into better treatments for addiction.

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