Brain Structure May Indicate Risk of Addiction

Many people experiment with drugs, but not everyone becomes addicted. New research suggests this may have to do with your brain’s plasticity.

A study by researchers at the Neurocentre Magendie in Bordeaux found that what causes drug users to become drug addicts could be an impairment of synaptic plasticity in a vital structure of the brain. While all users of drugs are likely to experience some type of changes to their brain, people with anaplasticity may not be able to counteract the changes and eventually develop an addiction.

This new research, published in the journal Science, is counter to the commonly held belief that addiction is caused by changes to the brain that develop over time with drug use. However, the effect of the new research on treatment for drug addiction may be groundbreaking.
“The results of this work show that it is in the brain of the non-addicted users that we will probably find the key to a true addiction therapy,” said the study’s authors. “Indeed, understanding the biological mechanisms which enable adaptation to the drug and which help the user to maintain a controlled consumption could provide us with the tools to combat the anaplastic state that leads to addiction.”

Drug Addiction Studied in Rats

For the study, the researchers compared addicted and non-addicted rats. The addictive behaviors of rats are similar to those of humans. The researchers found that those rats that developed an addiction to cocaine permanently lost their ability to produce long-term depression (LTD), a form of plasticity. This affected their ability to develop new memory traces and demonstrate flexible behaviors.
The deficit in LTD occurred only after long-term use of cocaine, and not with short-term use. When that happened, the rats were more likely to develop a compulsive consumption of drugs. 

In humans, the brains of most people who use drugs can adapt to counteract the negative effects of drug use and produce a normal LTD. When there is a lack of plasticity, users lose their ability to ward off the negative effects and the deficit in LTD persists. Once a user has lost all control over their ability to not use their drug of choice, an addiction forms. 

Treatment for Drug Addiction

There is no way to have control over how your brain reacts to drug use, but you should be aware that there is always a chance that your drug use will lead to drug addiction. If you begin to notice that your life has been taken over by drugs or that you find a compulsive need to use drugs, you should seek treatment for your drug addiction before it becomes more severe. The earlier you get a handle on your drug use and addiction, the easier it will be to stop your addiction and have a lasting recovery.