Research Description

Drugs of abuse mediate their rewarding, stimulant, conditioned and motivational effects by activating dopaminergic and GABAergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area that project to cortical and limbic regions. Repeated use of opiates and other drugs of abuse results in adaptations in these motivational systems in addicted individuals. As a result of changes in these pathways, drug dependent individuals are hypersensitive to drugs and drug-related cues and contexts even after long periods of abstinence. Our research paradigms in addiction examine the role of gamma-aminobutyric acid GABA-B receptors in the ventral tegmental area of the midbrain. We examine the effects of GABA-B receptor agents on opiate sensitization, reward, extinction of reward, its reacquisition. We are interested in understanding how these agents alter addiction related learning processes and neural plasticity in circuits mediating motivational and cognitive functions. Such research defines the mechanisms related to drug relapse and defines novel therapeutic targets of interest for clinical studies. We utilize state-of-the-art methods in behavioral neuroscience, neuroanatomy, and neurochemistry to study these neural systems in opiate addiction.

Our lab is also involved in translational research that examines the effects of pharmacological agents in human addiction. We test the effects of various pharmacological agents on nicotine craving and withdrawal in smokers and in smokers with schizophrenia. Our translational work uses "bench to bedside" approaches in examining the neurobiological mechanisms of addiction and related neuropharmacological treatment approaches to this chronic relapsing disorder of addiction.