Intellectual pursuits may buffer the brain against addiction

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-07/uoc--ipm071415.php

Public Release: 14-Jul-2015
University of California - Berkeley

Challenging the idea that addiction is hardwired in the brain, a new UC Berkeley study of mice suggests that even a short time spent in a stimulating learning environment can rewire the brain's reward system and buffer it against drug dependence.

Scientists tracked cocaine cravings in more than 70 adult male mice and found that those rodents whose daily drill included exploration, learning and finding hidden tasty morsels were less likely than their enrichment-deprived counterparts to seek solace in a chamber where they had been given cocaine.

"We have compelling behavioral evidence that self-directed exploration and learning altered their reward systems so that when cocaine was experienced it made less of an impact on their brain," said Linda Wilbrecht, assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience at UC Berkeley and senior author of the paper just published in the journal, Neuropharmacology.

By contrast, mice who were not intellectually challenged and/or whose activities and diets were restricted, were eager to return to the quarters where they had been injected with cocaine for weeks on end.

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Drug abuse and addiction rank among the world's more costly, destructive and seemingly insurmountable problems. Previous studies have found that poverty, trauma, mental illness and other environmental and physiological stressors can alter the brain's reward circuitry and make us more susceptible to substance abuse.

The good news about this latest study is that it offers scalable interventions against drug-seeking behaviors, albeit through evidence based on animal behavior.

"Our data are exciting because they suggest that positive learning experiences, through education or play in a structured environment, could sculpt and develop brain circuits to build resilience in at-risk individuals, and that even brief cognitive interventions may be somewhat protective and last a relatively long time," Wilbrecht said.

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