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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

non-invasive treatment, drug addiction, relapse rates, hedonic valence

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Psychology

Abstract

The primary objective of this MEG project was to develop a non-invasive treatment for drug addiction. It was the first aim of this study to determine, in controlled experiments in rodents, the efficacy of brain electrical or light stimulation to produce long-term enhancement of dopamine (DA) release. Then, second, in a known human model of transient DA deficiency in drug-free subjects, which we already have recent experience, we will evaluate the effects of this stimulation to ameliorate the physiological and cognitive deficits that we have seen. When an addict refrains from their addictive behavior DA levels fall in the mesolimbic DA reward system in the brain below normal homeostatic levels creating a powerful motivating force to return to their previous addictions to raise the levels of DA, avoiding the dysphoria, anxiety and perhaps depression associated with withdrawal. Thus, if the tonic levels of DA in the reward system could be restored to baseline or normal levels before such a critical point of deficiency, then relapse, and the associated societal impacts could be avoided. Non-invasive brain stimulation to enhance DA levels has much promise in this regard. By monitoring dopamine levels a medical practitioner in private practice could effectively treat subjects by raising their DA levels via brain stimulation, which would effectively diminish the hedonic valence of the drug reinforcer and lower relapse rates.

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