eNeuro: withdrawal from psychostimulants will rebuild the functional structure of the brain

From nicotine in cigarettes to illegal drugs like methamphetamine and cocaine, addictive psychostimulants affect different areas of the brain

In a new paper published in the journal eNeuro on September 27, 2021, a multi-institutional research team describes how withdrawal from nicotine, methamphetamine, and cocaine changes compared to control animals The functional structure and model of the mouse brain

They found that each drug produced a unique pattern of activity in the brain, but the brains of mice in the withdrawal state had similar characteristics

"All brains are organized into groups of semi-autonomous neurons with specific functions, such as the cortex, amygdala, and thalamus

"We found that compared to the control mice, the number of modules was significantly reduced during the withdrawal period

The author said that the reduction in modularity led to a complete reorganization of the brain network

To conduct their research, the scientists implanted osmotic mini-pumps into mice that contained nicotine, cocaine, methamphetamine, or saline

"We found that cocaine, methamphetamine, and nicotine withdrawal symptoms produced a major reshuffle of the brain area with an increase in the main functional connectivity in the whole brain control (saline) mice compared to," George said, "with a decrease in modular structure The strongest of the brain is methamphetamine, cocaine, and nicotine

The brains of methamphetamine and cocaine-dependent mice are also very similar, which is consistent with their common pharmacology of targeting the dopaminergic system

This reduction in modularity is related to the transfer of the network controlled by the higher-level cortex to the subcortical network

George said that this remodeling commonality during psychostimulant withdrawal helps explain why these drugs are so addictive