Scientists develop a new treatment for those suffering from addiction
Orange County, CA - January 26th 2017 - Researchers from the University of Texas at Dallas have utilized a new therapy that may be incredibly beneficial to those struggling to overcome addiction. Drugs are the leading cause of accidental death in the United States with fatal overdoses taking more lives than shootings and traffic accidents. The new treatment, vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) therapy can help the brain learn new behaviors that outweigh the need to consume drugs. Tested in rodents, the therapy was found successful in minimizing drug cravings.
Vagus nerve stimulation therapy is carried out by sending a low electric pulse through the vagus nerve, which is located in the neck. This induces targeted synaptic plasticity to aid in the elimination of drug cravings and to reduce the possibility of relapse. This involves attempting to remove those memories from the brain.
“Extinction of fearful memories and extinction of drug-seeking memories relies on the same substrate in the brain. In our experiments, VNS facilitates both the extinction learning and reduces the relapse response as well,” said senior author Dr. Sven Kroener, who is also an assistant professor in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences.In the study, a group of rats would press a button that provided them with cocaine while also setting off a tone and turning on a light. This continued for several days before triggering the button stopped producing all three effects. Now in the same setting, but without the drug, they are forced into withdrawal where they next will relearn the contingencies.
The animals don’t forget the drug cues, but rather learn something that competes with those memories, hence only changing the first of the three commands when the button is pressed. Over time the button is pressed less often, but rarely will the animals stop pressing it altogether. The number of presses goes from 60 presses per session to 10. When the tone and sound are returned, but not the drug, the animals experience intense cravings and press the button more frequently again. After going through VNS treatment the mice reduce their pressing of the button by nearly 50%, a significant reduction. This proves less cravings, but more importantly less response to those cravings.
The University of Dallas is a focal point for VSN research, currently researching its effectiveness for reducing paralysis from stroke, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety or tinnitus. The Food and Drug Administration has already approved VPN therapy in cases of epilepsy and depression and the team is looking forward to furthering their research.
Read their study here.
