By Free Republic | Created at 2024-09-29 05:31:23 | Updated at 2024-09-30 09:34:06
1 day ago
Cognitive deficits from meth and PCP use are generated by a common neurotransmitter switch, neurobiologists show (Clozapine helps)
Medical Xpress / University of California - San Diego / Nature Communications ^ | Sept. 26, 2024 | Mario Aguilera / Marta Pratelli et al
Posted on 09/28/2024 9:18:43 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
The effects of sustained drug abuse can manifest in many ways. Loss of memory and reduced cognitive functions are some of the effects that can persist for years. Neurobiologists have now identified a mechanism in the brain that generates drug-induced cognitive impairments.
Scientists investigated how methamphetamine and phencyclidine (PCP or "angel dust"), which take effect by activating different targets in the brain, induce a similar reduction in cognitive ability. How could the same difficulties in memory emerge in response to drugs that trigger different actions in the brain?
The results of this investigation showed that meth and PCP caused neurons to change the way they communicate through a process known as neurotransmitter switching.
Neurotransmitter switching is a form of brain plasticity, an evolving area of research investigating how the brain changes function and structure in response to experience.
Examining the cerebral cortex of mice, the investigators found that meth and PCP each caused a switch from the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate to the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) in the same neurons in the prelimbic region, an area of the frontal cortex involved in executive functions.
This switch was linked to a decrease in memory task performance since drug-treated mice performed well in the tasks when the expression of GABA was blocked.
Further experiments showed that even after repeated exposure to the drugs, the researchers were able to reverse this neurotransmitter switch using molecular tools to locally decrease the brain's electrical activity or using clozapine, an antipsychotic drug. Each of these treatments reversed the memory loss, restoring the performance of mice in the cognitive tasks.
"These results suggest that targeted manipulation of neuronal activity may be used to ameliorate some of the negative effects of repeated drug abuse," said Pratelli.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
TOPICS: Health/Medicine
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Clozapine is capable of undoing memory loss from drug abuse, it appears.
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2 posted on 09/28/2024 9:19:39 PM PDT by ConservativeMind (Trump: Befuddling Democrats, Republicans, and the Media for the benefit of the US and all mankind.)
To: ConservativeMind
That’s why they call it “dope”
3 posted on 09/28/2024 9:27:24 PM PDT by P.O.E. (Pray for America.)
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