New targeting method separates opioid pain relief from reward learning in mice
Researchers at Duke University School of Medicine are investigating how to keep opioids' pain-relieving benefits while reducing their addictive potential. In a study published in Nature, they report a step toward that goal.
Researchers at Duke University are investigating ways to retain opioids' pain-relieving benefits while minimizing their addictive potential. A new study published in Nature reveals that a specific group of brain cells, known as acetylcholine-releasing neurons in the nucleus accumbens, play a crucial role in opioid reward learning.
Reward learning is the process by which the brain associates a drug with positive outcomes, potentially leading to addiction. The study challenges previous findings that dopamine elevation was the primary driver of opioid reward learning. By selectively blocking opioids in these acetylcholine-releasing neurons using a targeted drug reversal technique, researchers found that mice no longer developed a preference for a chamber where they received morphine, indicating that these neurons play a critical role in forming rewarding associations with opioids.
However, the pain-relieving effects and dopamine elevation in the brain remained unaffected. This finding suggests that it may be possible to separate opioids' analgesic benefits from their addictive properties, potentially reducing the risk of addiction while maintaining the drug's pain-relieving effects.
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