Treatment of Drug Addiction Still a Challenging Task: Expert at IAN Meet

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Effective treatment of drug addiction is still a challenging task since scientists are yet to come across definitive clues about the exact psychological and biological mechanisms that make people switch from controlled drug use to addiction, according to Prof. David Belin of University of Cambridge, UK.

Prof. Belin was delivering the plenary talk on the second day of the 43rd Annual Meeting of Indian Academy of Neurosciences (IAN) here today. The four-day event is hosted by Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (BRIC-RGCB), at Kovalam here.

Speaking on ‘On the Multifaceted Nature of Compulsive Drug-Seeking Habits in Addiction: Insights from Preclinical Research’, Prof. Belin noted that drug addiction is a chronic brain disorder that claims the lives of millions of individuals worldwide every year, while profoundly damaging the lives of hundreds of millions, costing billions to society.

“The UK has the highest number of young cocaine users in Europe. The size of the illicit drug market in the country is £9.4 billion,” he said.

Dr Belin said there are no effective treatments for drug addiction since scientists have no clue about the psychological and biological mechanisms that make people vulnerable to switch from controlled drug use to addiction.

“Drug addiction stems from the development of maladaptive drug seeking habits as brain regions different from those that initially respond to drugs are activated during drug foraging,” he said.

According to him, engaging in drug seeking behaviour can be a goal in its own right and promote relapse. “This opens new avenues for the development of novel therapeutic strategies for drug addiction, but also for behavioural addictions,” he said.

Prof. Belin also explained how drug foraging, which encompasses all the behaviours involved in the procurement of drugs, becomes habitual over the course of the development of drug addiction.

He presented a series of experiments in rats and humans that manifest drug use is initially goal-directed and engages some regions of the brain involved in motivation and reward.

While giving Prof P N Tandon oration on the topic ‘Language and Culture: Implications for Cognitive Resilience and Dementia,’ Suvarna Alladi, NIMHANS, Bengaluru, said language, bilingualism and brain research offer a framework for future scientific enquiry in dementia.

Alladi said harmonising research frameworks from diverse disciplines of neurobiology, clinical, pharmacological and socio-cultural in India will facilitate progress in development and implementation of novel preventive and therapeutic strategies.

In the session on ‘Adolescence, Alcohol and Memory,’ Ratna Sircar, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, US, on the sidelines of Prof S S Parmer oration, said adolescent alcohol-induced memory deficit is associated with structural, cellular and molecular changes in specific brain regions.

The October 29-November 1 conference features top scientists and domain experts from leading institutions from India and abroad.