Program of Research

The author is George Koob. He is a professor of psychiatry and psychology as well as a former chair of the Committee of the Neurobiology of Addictive Disorders at Scripps Research Institute. They seem to be well-established in their field and is a senior member of this topic. His research goal seems to understand the neurobiology and brain circuits/pathways that contribute to addiction and that allow from the transition from a normal to drug dependence

Article: Koob GF, Le Noal M. 2001. Drug addiction, dysregulation of reward, and allostasis. Neuropsychopharmacology. 24: 97-129.

Summary: This paper begins to look at models and circuits behind addiction. One model attempts to explain the vulnerability to relapse even after drug-taking behavior has stopped. Addiction is the downward spiral of dysregulation of brain reward systems. Additionally, the allostatic set-point in people with addiction is changed to maintain proper reward stability.

Article: Koob G, Kreek MJ. 2007. Stress, dysregulation of drug reward pathways, and the transition to drug dependence. Am J Psychiatry. 164: 1149-1159.

Summary: This article zooms in on the neurocircuitry of the brain and examines the neuroadaptive changes that occur in the brain from limited access to drugs to long-term compulsive use of drugs. Researchers used a cocaine binge model and an escalation of self-administration model. These models reveal an increase in ACTH and show activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis during withdrawal. activation of the HPA axis depends on the activation of the mesolimbic dopamine system, Additionally this paper shows how different levels of hormones and brain stress activation affect addiction.

Article: Koob GF, Volkow ND. 2010. Neurocircuitry of addiction. Neuropsychopharmacology. 35: 1051.

Summary: This article represents a zoom-out of the whole process of developing addiction and the specific brain circuits. This article characterizes the 3 stages: binge, withdrawal, and preoccupation. Using human and animal imaging, researchers identified circuits that mediate these stages. These stages are the result of the activation of distinct structures in the addiction circuit. Binge/intoxication - ventral tegmental area and ventral striatum. Withdrawal/negative affect - extended amygdala. preoccupation/anticipation - orbitofrontal cortex-dorsal striatum, prefrontal cortex, and basolateral amygdala.