新的研究从宾夕法尼亚大学的年代chool of Nursing (Penn Nursing) has discovered that GLP-1Rs are expressed on specific cell types and neural circuits in the brain that reduce cocaine-seeking behavior. Investigators have also discovered that GLP-1Rs are expressed primarily on GABAergic neurons in the hindbrain and that the efficacy of the GLP-1R agonist exendin-4 to reduce cocaine seeking depends, in part, on activation of these GABA circuits. Moreover, activating these endogenous anti-craving circuits in the brain using viral-mediated gene delivery methods was sufficient to reduce cocaine-seeking behavior. These findings highlight GLP-1R-expressing anti-craving circuits in the brain that could serve as potential targets to reduce cocaine craving-induced relapse. The findings are published in the journalMolecular Psychiatry.

"Overall, the translational implications of these findings are profound in that they support GLP-1R-focused therapeutic approaches for the treatment of cocaine craving and relapse," says lead investigator Heath D. Schmidt, PhD, Associate Professor of Nursing at Penn Nursing.