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D2 Neurochemistry

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Alcoholism is one of the most serious diseases affecting American society: alcohol use disorders affect nearly 17 million people in the country and is the third most common cause of preventable death every year. However, scientists at the Texas A & M Health Science Center College of Medicine recently made a discovery that could alter these statistics immeasurably. In a study published by the Journal of Neuroscience, these scientists reports that they believed they had identified the neuron in the brain that caused alcoholism and other addictions. If this finding can be verified and proven, it could send shock waves through the world that could eliminate alcoholism and addiction forever.
What is the Science Behind the Discovery? For years, …show more content…

The difference between the two neuron types is significant: D1 neurons tell the brain to continue a behavior (because it produces pleasure) while the D2 tell the brain to stop doing a behavior because it is unpleasant. Tracking the behavior of these neurons in their study showed an amazing discovery: D1 exposed to large amounts of alcohol were more highly developed. As a result, the D1 receptors were more “excitable” and tended to become active without …show more content…

Essentially, scientists have discovered why increased dopamine leads to addiction.
Could This Lead to a Cure for Alcoholism? Although it is much too early to tell if a cure for alcoholism is possible, this finding creates a much higher probability of discovery. In fact, during the study, scientists actually gave the animals a drug that could partially block activity of the D1 receptor. Amazingly, this actually seemed to decrease the animal's desire to drink alcohol. While the animals still had alcohol cravings, they were at a much lower level than they were without the drug. Tellingly, blocking the D2 receptors did nothing to suppress cravings. So the D1 receptor is clearly the culprit here. The potential for a cure is great: there is a real possibility that scientists could find ways to block D1 excitability in a focused manner and eliminate its sensitivity to alcohol. In theory, this could actually eliminate the symptoms of physical alcoholism.
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