NEUROBIOLOGY OF DRUG ADDICTION

BERNABEU R

Cordoba

Simposio; SAN IBRO LARC Course and ISN Small Conference (ISN-CC) Associated to the XXXIII SAN 2018 Meeting.; 2018

Sociedad Argentina para las Neurociencias

A hallmark of drug addiction is the uncontrollable desire to consume drugs at the expense of severe negative consequences. Moreover, addicts that successfully refrain from drug use have a high vulnerability to relapse even after months or years of abstinence. The current understanding of drug-induced neuroplasticity within the mesocorticolimbic brain system that contributes to the development of addiction and the persistence of relapse to drug seeking is one of the most prominent challenges in neurobiology of drug addiction. The long-lived behavioral abnormalities associated with addiction are thought to arise from pathological plasticity not only in dopaminergic but also in glutamatergic neurotransmission. The nature of changes in excitatory synaptic plasticity depends on several factors, including the type of drug, the brain area, and the time-point studied in the transition of drug exposure to withdrawal and relapse to drug seeking. Identification of drug-induced neuroplasticity is crucial to understand how molecular and cellular adaptations contribute to the end stage of addiction, which from a clinical perspective, is a time-point where pharmacotherapy may be most effectively employed. The main aim of the SAN Course and ISN Small conference on ?Neurobiology of drug addiction? is to contribute to the discussion of the neurobiological mechanisms of drug addiction. To this end, experimental models in laboratory animals for the different aspects of drug addiction (abstinence, sensitization, reinstatement, tolerance and compulsion) will be covered. It will include generalizations of shared processes with stress (as a precipitating factor of addiction), and the individual characteristics for heroin, cocaine, amphetamines, nicotine, cannabinoids, inhalants and alcohol. The neural mechanisms underlying compulsive eating disorder and reward learning will be also included. The newest molecular, behavioral and electrophysiological advances as well as therapeutic strategies will be proposed for drug addiction.