title: The addicted brain craves new neurons: putative role for adult-born progenitors in promoting recovery.
abstract: Addiction is a chronic relapsing disorder associated with compulsive drug taking, drug seeking and a loss of control in limiting intake, reflected in three stages of a recurrent cycle: binge/intoxication, withdrawal/negative affect, and preoccupation/anticipation ("craving"). This review discusses the role of adult-born neural and glial progenitors in drug seeking associated with the different stages of the addiction cycle. A review of the current literature suggests that the loss of newly born progenitors, particularly in hippocampal and cortical regions, plays a role in determining vulnerability to relapse in rodent models of drug addiction. The normalization of drug-impaired neurogenesis or gliogenesis may help reverse neuroplasticity during abstinence and, thus, may help reduce the vulnerability to relapse and aid recovery.
authors.affiliation: Committee on the Neurobiology of Addictive Disorders, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA. cmandyam@scripps.edu
authors.forename: Chitra D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Mandyam
authors.forename: George F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Koob
mesh_terms: D053687:Adult Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D016739:Behavior, Addictive; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D055495:Neurogenesis; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*