Since their introduction in the 1960s, drugs categorized as
benzodiazepines, which include diazepam (Valium) and alprazolam
(Xanax), have been widely prescribed to treat anxiety and
insomnia, alcohol withdrawal, and other conditions. Although
they are highly effective for their intended uses, these
medications must be prescribed with caution because they can be
addictive. Now, work by NIDA-funded researchers has established
that benzodiazepines cause addiction in a way similar to that of
opioids, cannabinoids, and the club drug gamma-hydroxybutyrate
(GHB). The discovery opens the door to designing new
benzodiazepines that counteract anxiety but are not addictive.
Dr. Christian Lüscher and colleagues at the University of
Geneva, Switzerland, studied benzodiazepines as part of a larger
project to identify the point of convergence for all
neurobiological pathways to drug addiction. Their findings
strongly suggest that this juncture occurs when dopamine surges
in response to drug taking initiate a change in synap