Study 'could improve addiction relapse treatment'

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by Change | 18 Dec 2008

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A new study may allow substance rehab clinics to better understand the mechanisms behind drug relapse.

New research into brain function could help identify potential targets for preventing addiction relapse.

A study, performed by the Vanderbilt University Medical Centre, has found a functional link between reward and stress responses it believes plays a part in dependency on drug and alcohol abuse.

Published in the Journal of Neuroscience, it could help inform substance addiction clinics' approaches to the problem.

Danny Winder, an associate professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics and investigator at the Center for Molecular Neuroscience and the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, claims the structuring of the brain could affect reinstatement behaviour.

"Even after long periods of abstinence, an individual is at risk for relapse and stress is what's most frequently cited as initiating that relapse," he states.

Dopamine - the chemical the study identifies as a key part of the body's reward mechanism - works through a stress system in the area of the brain connected with addiction relapse.

Mr Winder suggests this will allow rehab treatment clinics to focus on aftercare and the post-withdrawal phase.

Earlier this week, the Sunset Malibu centre suggested addiction treatment services are an essential part of overcoming dependency.

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