Key to Cocaine Addiction May Lead to Treatment THURSDAY Jan. 7,
2010 -- A key mechanism in the brain that helps explain how
people become addicted to cocaine has been identified by U.S.
government scientists, who say their finding could lead to the
development of new treatments for drug addiction. In experiments
with mice, the team at the National Institute on Drug Abuse
(NIDA) showed how cocaine affects an epigenetic process called
histone methylation. An epigenetic process is a process that
influences gene expression without changing a gene's sequence.
These epigenetic changes in the brain's pleasure circuits likely
add to an acquired desire for cocaine, according to the study
published in the January issue of Science. "This fundamental
discovery advances our understanding of how cocaine addiction
works," Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of NIDA, said in an agency
news release. "Although more research will be required, these
findings have identified a key new player in the molecular
cascade triggered by repeate