Addiction Solution Source

This molecular model shows nicotine (in center) binding to a brain receptor via a cation-À interaction. (Image Credit: Caltech/Dennis Dougherty) According to California Institute of Technology (Caltech) researchers, lead by Dennis Dougherty, Professor of Chemistry, there is a very small genetic difference between brain cells and muscle cells that alter the way that nicotine affects us.

The receptor nicotine binds to in the brain’s neurons–a type of acetylcholine receptor, which also binds the neurotransmitter acetylcholine–is found in large numbers in muscle cells. Were nicotine to bind with those cells, it would cause muscles to contract with such force that the response would likely prove lethal.

The cause of this difference in binding potency, says Dougherty, is a single point mutation that occurs in the receptor near the key tryptophan amino acid that makes the cation-A interaction. “This one mutation means that, in the brain, nicotine can cozy up to this one particular tryptophan much more closely than it can in muscle cells,” he explains. “And that is what allows the nicotine to make the strong cation-À interaction.”

Brain Awareness Week (BAW) (March 16-22) is an international campaign dedicated to advancing public awareness about the progress and benefits of brain research. Founded and coordinated by the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives and its sister organization, the European Dana Alliance for the Brain, BAW is now entering its fourteenth year as a catalyst for public understanding of brain science. The Dana Alliances are joined in the campaign by partners from around the world, including universities, hospitals, patient groups, government agencies, schools, service organizations, and professional associations.

Candy cigarettes predispose children who play with them to smoke the real things later.

Researchers led by Nora D. Volkow, MD, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), report evidence that Provigil (generic name, modafinil) might be more addictive than thought.

The study was published in the March issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

“There is an increasing use of this medication, and people have promoted the off-label use of stimulants and Provigil as cognitive enhancers with the belief that these drugs are safe”. “But these drugs have side effects, and their use without proper medical oversight could lead to abuse and addiction.”

In a recent report in the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention, thrill-seeking young men in their 20’s are more likely to drive under the influence of cannabis (DUIC) and engage in reckless driving,

“We observed that dangerous driving behaviours are interrelated. Individuals scoring high on impulsivity or sensation-seeking scales demonstrated an elevated risk of driving under the influence of marijuana,” states senior author Jacques Bergeron, a professor at the Université de Montréal’s Department of Psychology.

The study also found that men with self-reported DUIC tend to be associated with an increased risk of being involved in a car accident.

Guidelines used by clinicians to direct methadone therapy may be incorrect.