© 2013 • 368 pp., illus (30 4C and 25 B&W), index
Hardcover • $135 • ISBN  978-1-936113-47-7

Drug and alcohol abuse elicits significant biological changes in the brain that drive compulsive behavior and lead to addiction. Abrupt cessation leads to withdrawal, craving, and relapse. A complete understanding of the brain changes produced by abused substances is therefore necessary if we are to develop treatments for drug dependence.

Written and edited by experts in the field, this collection from Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine explores the biological basis of addiction to alcohol, nicotine, and other psychoactive drugs. Contributors describe the molecular targets of these drugs, the resulting changes to neural networks, and the various genetic, developmental, and behavioral factors that influence the progression from abuse to addiction. Animal models of addictive behavior and techniques to dissect neural circuits are also described.

This volume includes discussion of compounds currently used or under development to treat drug dependence. Thus, it is an indispensable reference for neuroscientists and all who are interested in reducing the public health burden of substance abuse.

Preface

 

INTRODUCTION

Rational Development of Addiction Pharmacotherapies: Successes, Failures, and Prospects

R. Christopher Pierce, Charles P. O’Brien, Paul J. Kenny, and Louk J.M.J. Vanderschuren

 

SECTION 1: METHODS AND MODELS

Animal Studies of Addictive Behavior

Louk J.M.J. Vanderschuren and Serge H. Ahmed

Responses to Novelty and Vulnerability to Cocaine Addiction: Contribution of a Multi-Symptomatic Animal Model

David Belin and Véronique Deroche-Gamonet

Systems Level Neuroplasticity in Drug Addiction

Matthew W. Feltenstein and Ronald E. See

Optogenetic Strategies to Dissect the Neural Circuits that Underlie Reward and Addiction

Alice M. Stamatakis and Garret D. Stuber

 

SECTION 2: PSYCHOSTIMULANTS

Mechanisms of Psychostimulant-Induced Structural Plasticity

Sam A. Golden and Scott J. Russo

Roles of Nucleus Accumbens CREB and Dynorphin in Dysregulation of Motivation

John W. Muschamp and William A. Carlezon, Jr.

Cocaine-Evoked Synaptic Plasticity of Excitatory Transmission in the
Ventral Tegmental Area

Christian Lüscher

Psychostimulant-Induced Neuroadaptations in Nucleus Accumbens
AMPA Receptor Transmission

R. Christopher Pierce and Marina E. Wolf

Epigenetics and Psychostimulant Addiction

Heath D. Schmidt, Jacqueline F. McGinty, Anne E. West, and Ghazaleh Sadri-Vakili

 

SECTION 3: OPIATES

Opiate-Induced Molecular and Cellular Plasticity of Ventral Tegmental Area and Locus Coeruleus Catecholamine Neurons

Michelle S. Mazei-Robison and Eric J. Nestler

Glutamate Mechanisms Underlying Opiate Memories

Jamie Peters and Taco J. De Vries

The Neurobiology of Opiate Motivation

Ryan Ting-A-Kee and Derek van der Kooy

Medications Development for Opioid Abuse

S. Stevens Negus and Matthew L. Banks

 

SECTION 4: NICOTINE

Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Behaviors Related to Nicotine Addiction

Marina R. Picciotto and Paul J. Kenny

Short-and Long-Term Consequences of Nicotine Exposure during Adolescence
for Prefrontal Cortex Neuronal Network Function

Natalia A. Goriounova and Huibert D. Mansvelder

Mesolimbic Dopamine and Habenulo-Interpeduncular Pathways in Nicotine Withdrawal

John A. Dani and Mariella De Biasi

The “Stop” and “Go” of Nicotine Dependence: Role of GABA and Glutamate

Manoranjan S. D’Souza and Athina Markou

Translational Research in Nicotine Dependence

Jill R. Turner, Allison Gold, Robert Schnoll, and Julie A. Blendy

 

SECTION 5: ALCOHOL

Ethanol Effects on N-Methyl-d-Aspartate Receptors in the Bed Nucleus
of the Stria Terminalis

Tiffany A. Wills and Danny G. Winder

The Central Amygdala and Alcohol: Role of γ-Aminobutyric Acid, Glutamate, and Neuropeptides

Marisa Roberto, Nicholas W. Gilpin, and George R. Siggins

Opioid Pharmacogenetics of Alcohol Addiction

Wade Berrettini

 

SECTION 6: CANNABINOIDS

A Brain on Cannabinoids: The Role of Dopamine Release in Reward Seeking

Erik B. Oleson and Joseph F. Cheer

Synaptic Targets of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol in the Central Nervous System

Alexander F. Hoffman and Carl R. Lupica

Index