Can amphetamine and caffeine make you a slacker?

By Scicurious One of the interesting things about this paper is that it highlights to me how different the perspectives on a specific data set can be when you’re coming from two different fields. These scientists are coming from the field of cognition and decision making, whereas I come from a field of pharmacology and drug abuse. While I think the data are equally interesting, it makes me think of very different things than they talked about in their discussion. To me, that’s a sign of just how different our readings in the field can be. The authors of this article were coming at this study from the perspective of studies in choice and decision making. They were interested in finding a model of choice and decision making in rats that better mimics the way humans make decisions. In particular, they are interested in the amount of effort that it takes to achieve a goal. This has important clinical implications for changes that take place in depression or traumatic brain injury, where you sometimes see dramatic changes in motivation in humans. To look at this, they had rats perform a modified cognitive task. In the task, the rats were given a choice between an easy and a hard task, and they could press a lever indicating which task they wanted. After the lever press, they had to watch a series of 5 lights. One of the lights would light up. If the rat correctly pressed his nose into the area under the lit up light, he got a sugar pellet. In the easy task, the light was on for a little while, but in the hard task, it was on for a short time, so the rat had to pay closer attention. But if he chose the hard task and completed it successfully, the rat got double the reward. © 2012 Scientific American,

Related chapters from BP6e: Chapter 4: The Chemical Bases of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology; Chapter 18: Attention and Higher Cognition
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 4: The Chemistry of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology; Chapter 14: Attention and Consciousness
Link ID: 16604 - Posted: 04.04.2012

Study provides clues for designing new anti-addiction medications

Scientists are now one step closer to developing anti-addiction medications, thanks to new research that provides a better understanding of the properties of the only member of the opioid receptor family whose activation counteracts the rewarding effects of addictive drugs. The study was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Institute of General Medical Sciences and the National Institute of Mental Health, all components of the National Institutes of Health. Unlike the other opioid receptor subtypes, the kappa opioid receptor (KOR) is not associated with the development of physical dependence or the abuse potential of opiate drugs (e.g., heroin, morphine). Therefore, medications that act at the KOR could have broad therapeutic potential for addressing addiction, pain, as well as other mental disorders. The leading compound in this context is JDTic because its specific binding to the KOR has been shown to reduce relapse to cocaine seeking in animal models. JDTic is currently in clinical trials to assess its safety and tolerability in humans. In this new study, scientists produced a high resolution three-dimensional image of JDTic bound to the human KOR. By mapping all the points of contact between JDTic and the human KOR, researchers were able to see how the two fit together. The emerging picture reveals critical new information that helps explain why JDTic binds so tightly and specifically to this particular opioid receptor. This advance opens the door to the development of compounds targeting the KOR with improved therapeutic profiles, including that of non-addictive pain medications. The study by Wu et al., can be found at: www.nature.com. For information on prescription drug abuse, go to: www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/prescription-medications.

Plant biotechnology: Make it a decaf

Brendan Borrell Paulo Mazzafera punched a pea-sized disc out of a waxy green coffee leaf, then placed the disc in a small vial with a mixture of chloroform and methanol to dissolve it. Later, he loaded the extract, along with 95 other samples, into a high-performance liquid chromatography machine, which separates out each chemical component. When the plant physiologist returned to his lab at the University of Campinas in Brazil the next morning, he sat down at his laptop to examine the results. Scrolling from one chromatogram to the next, he scrutinized the peak representing caffeine. In one plant, it was missing. Mazzafera ran the sample twice more and then, just before noon, called his collaborator Bernadete Silvarolla, based at the agricultural station nearby, to share the news. “Are you sure?” she asked. He was. In fact, he was thrilled. After screening thousands of plants over the course of two decades, his project to find a naturally caffeine-free coffee finally seemed to be bearing fruit. That was in late 2003. Coffee contains some 2,000 chemical compounds that give the drink its enticing aroma and flavour, including caffeine, a stimulant and natural pesticide. Removing the caffeine while leaving all the others intact poses a significant challenge. Brewers have generally turned to chemistry: Ludwig Roselius of Bremen, Germany, patented the first commercial decaffeination process in 1905. But his coffee, marketed as Kaffee HAG, used benzene in the extraction process, and the chemical was later replaced by less toxic solvents. Today, companies may instead douse raw green coffee beans in high-pressure liquid carbon dioxide or soak them in hot water for several hours to remove the caffeine before roasting. Aficionados say that all these methods destroy the taste, but the decaf market is still worth US$2 billion a year. © 2012 Nature Publishing Group

Related chapters from BP6e: Chapter 4: The Chemical Bases of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 4: The Chemistry of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
Link ID: 16543 - Posted: 03.20.2012

Learning From the Spurned and Tipsy Fruit Fly

By BENEDICT CAREY They were young males on the make, and they struck out not once, not twice, but a dozen times with a group of attractive females hovering nearby. So they did what so many men do after being repeatedly rejected: they got drunk, using alcohol as a balm for unfulfilled desire. Fruit flies apparently self-medicate just like many humans do, drowning their sorrows or frustrations for some of the same reasons, scientists reported Thursday. Male flies subjected to what amounted to a long tease — in a glass tube, not a dance club — preferred food spiked with alcohol far more than male flies that were able to mate. The study, posted online in the journal Science, suggests that some elements of the brain’s reward system have changed very little during evolution, and these include some of the mechanisms that support addiction. Levels of a brain chemical that is active in regulating appetite predicted the flies’ thirst for alcohol. A similar chemical is linked to drinking in humans. “Reading this study is like looking back in time, to see the very origins of the reward circuit that drives fundamental behaviors like sex, eating and sleeping,” said Dr. Markus Heilig, the clinical director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Dr. Heilig, who was not involved in the research, said the findings also supported new approaches to treating alcohol dependence. Researchers are investigating several compounds aimed at blunting alcohol urges. © 2012 The New York Times Company

Related chapters from BP6e: Chapter 4: The Chemical Bases of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology; Chapter 12: Sex: Evolutionary, Hormonal, and Neural Bases
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 4: The Chemistry of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology; Chapter 8: Hormones and Sex
Link ID: 16522 - Posted: 03.17.2012

Heroin treatment more cost-effective than methadone

Prescribing heroin instead of methadone is more effective and less costly in treating street drug addiction relapses, a new analysis suggests. It was a collaboration with UBC, the University of Montreal and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. "We gave them option of trying methadone or diacetylmorphine [heroin] under medically supervised conditions, and we found people who were getting diacetylmorphine were retained in treatment much, much longer, so they had a much better outcome," said study head Dr. Aslam Anis, director of the Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver. Chronic addicts who were prescribed heroin stayed in treatment better than those prescribed methadone, researchers found.Chronic addicts who were prescribed heroin stayed in treatment better than those prescribed methadone, researchers found. (CBC) Most of the savings in the mathematical model were attributed to how those prescribed heroin stayed in treatment longer and spent less time in relapse than those randomly assigned to receive methadone. By staying in treatment, health-care costs were lower when the cost of the drugs, counselling and social supports were added up. "Our model indicated that diacetylmorphine would decrease societal costs, largely by reducing costs associated with crime, and would increase both the duration and quality of life of treatment recipients," the study's authors concluded. © CBC 2012

Related chapters from BP6e: Chapter 4: The Chemical Bases of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 4: The Chemistry of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
Link ID: 16509 - Posted: 03.13.2012

Familiarity With Drugs Helps a Group Speak for Users

By JESSE McKINLEY SAN FRANCISCO — With a couple of old desks, a beat-up couch and an off-white white board, the office space at 149 Turk Street, in this city’s seedy Tenderloin district, is hardly remarkable. A collection of worn detective novels sits on the bookshelf, a couple of American flags hang limply from the wall and a coffee machine constantly percolates in the back kitchen. It is the tenants who set 149 Turk apart: a ragtag group of current and former drug users who make no apologies about their fondness for illegal narcotics, intravenous experiences and the undeniable rush of getting high. “If you pass a drug test,” joked Gary West, a member, “you’re outta here.” But the group, the San Francisco Drug Users’ Union, has more on its mind than simply turning on, tuning in and dropping out. The union is one of several groups in the United States and Canada that advocate for the rights of drug users, following the lead of older European drug user organizations. Their goals are often varied, but carry a common refrain: to represent the political interests — and practical needs — of chronic drug abusers, a sometimes grim agenda that includes everything from providing clean needles to finding safe places to nod out. It is a job, members say, that requires firsthand experience to connect with a population that is often wary of law enforcement and social service agencies. “People don’t trust them,” said Isaac Jackson, who helped found the group and is, with Mr. West, one of two so-called peer organizers. “So someone being a drug user here is somewhat desirable, because who knows best about drugs than those that use them?” © 2012 The New York Times Company

Related chapters from BP6e: Chapter 4: The Chemical Bases of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 4: The Chemistry of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
Link ID: 16502 - Posted: 03.12.2012

Pat Robertson Says Marijuana Use Should be Legal

By JESSE McKINLEY Of the many roles Pat Robertson has assumed over his five-decade-long career as an evangelical leader — including presidential candidate and provocative voice of the right wing — his newest guise may perhaps surprise his followers the most: marijuana legalization advocate. “I really believe we should treat marijuana the way we treat beverage alcohol,” Mr. Robertson said in an interview on Wednesday. “I’ve never used marijuana and I don’t intend to, but it’s just one of those things that I think: this war on drugs just hasn’t succeeded.” Mr. Robertson’s remarks echoed statements he made last week on “The 700 Club,” the signature program of his Christian Broadcasting Network, and other comments he made in 2010. While those earlier remarks were largely dismissed by his followers, Mr. Robertson has now apparently fully embraced the idea of legalizing marijuana, arguing that it is a way to bring down soaring rates of incarceration and reduce the social and financial costs. “I believe in working with the hearts of people, and not locking them up,” he said. Mr. Robertson’s remarks were hailed by pro-legalization groups, who called them a potentially important endorsement in their efforts to roll back marijuana penalties and prohibitions, which residents of Colorado and Washington will vote on this fall. “I love him, man, I really do,” said Neill Franklin, executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a group of current and former law enforcement officials who oppose the drug war. “He’s singing my song.” © 2012 The New York Times Company

Related chapters from BP6e: Chapter 4: The Chemical Bases of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 4: The Chemistry of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
Link ID: 16496 - Posted: 03.10.2012

LSD helps to treat alcoholism

Arran Frood The powerful hallucinogen LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) has potential as a treatment for alcoholism, according to a retrospective analysis of studies published in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The study1, by neuroscientist Teri Krebs and clinical psychologist Pål-Ørjan Johansen of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, is the first-ever quantitative meta-analysis of LSD–alcoholism clinical trials. The researchers sifted through thousands of records to collect data from randomized, double-blind trials that compared one dose of LSD to a placebo. Of 536 participants in six trials, 59% of people receiving LSD reported lower levels of alcohol misuse, compared to 38% of people who received a placebo. “We were surprised that the effect was so clear and consistent,” says Krebs. She says that the problem with most studies done at that time was that there were too few participants, which limited statistical power. “But when you combine the data in a meta-analysis, we have more than 500 patients and there is definitely an effect,” she says. In general, the reported benefits lasted three to six months. Their findings are published today in the Journal of Psychopharmacology. Psychedelics were promoted by psychiatrists in the 1950s as having a range of medical uses — to treat conditions such as schizophrenia, for example — before political pressures in the United States and elsewhere largely ended the work. “Alcoholism was considered one of the most promising clinical applications for LSD,” says Johansen. Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill Wilson is said to have espoused the benefits of LSD in the book Pass It On: The Story of Bill Wilson and How the AA Message Reached the World. © 2012 Nature Publishing Group

Related chapters from BP6e: Chapter 4: The Chemical Bases of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 4: The Chemistry of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
Link ID: 16495 - Posted: 03.10.2012

OxyContin marketing blamed for addiction epidemic

Powerful but misleading marketing that for years pushed the highly addictive painkiller OxyContin has left potentially tens of thousands of Canadians with the burden of addiction, critics claim. OxyContin helped transform the medical landscape after it was introduced in the late 1990s, touted by doctors and pitched as a less addictive alternative to other opioids. Cancer patients and others suffering from chronic pain considered the pill — twice as strong as morphine — to be a godsend. But the CBC's The Fifth Estate found that as soon as several provinces dropped OxyContin this year as a publicly funded medication and it vanished from shelves, the drug once praised as a blessing became a curse for some addicts. Watch The Fifth Estate Unknown to some doctors and pharmacists when OxyContin debuted were its extremely addictive properties, a fact that may have contributed to its becoming an international best-selling painkiller. OxyContin was taken off the Canadian market this month. To replace the drug, Purdue Pharma, the company that makes OxyContin, began manufacturing a new formulation called OxyNeo. The replacement pill can't be crushed or liquefied and has thus been promoted as less prone to abuse. There are otherwise no clinical differences between the two brand names. © CBC 2012

New 'cocaine-like' drug worries Ottawa police

A new street drug has Ottawa police on alert and working hard to learn more. Police say an illegal powder known as bath salts, is a new drug trend that could soon be seen in Ottawa, even though no seizures have been made in the capital. The powerful hallucinogenic is also known by the name mephedrone and is reported to cause anxiety, delusions and dangerously high blood pressure, as well as occasionally violent behaviour. Earlier this week, Ontario Provincial Police officers seized the drug in Arnprior, about 50 kilometres west of Ottawa. Staff Sgt. Mike Laviolette said the drug is not yet under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act because it is new. The drug is being tested and investigated, however. "It comes in various forms, various colours, it's sold commercially under a myriad of different names," Laviolette said, "It's certainly all chemical, so it's a synthetic drug that's ingested by various means. You can either smoke it or snort it or inject it." Bath salts are popular in England and the U.S. and are now starting to show up in Canada. The drug is among several new synthetic designer drugs sold online or in small shops as actual bath salts or plant food. © CBC 2012

Related chapters from BP6e: Chapter 4: The Chemical Bases of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 4: The Chemistry of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
Link ID: 16472 - Posted: 03.05.2012

By RONI CARYN RABIN Many people are unaware that dozens of painkillers, antihistamines and psychiatric medications — from drugstore staples to popular antidepressants — can adversely affect brain function, mostly in the elderly. Regular use of multiple medications that have this effect has been linked to cognitive impairment and memory loss. Called anticholinergics, the drugs block the action of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, sometimes as a direct action, but often as a side effect. Acetylcholine is a chemical messenger with a range of functions in the body, memory production and cognitive function among them. The difficulty for patients is that the effect of anticholinergic drugs is cumulative. Doctors are not always aware of all of the medications their patients take, and they do not always think to review the anticholinergic properties of the ones they prescribe. It’s a particular problem for older patients, who are more vulnerable to the effects of these drugs and who tend to take more medicines over all. Now a spate of new research studies has focused on anticholinergic medicines. After following more than 13,000 British men and women 65 or older for two years, researchers found that those taking more than one anticholinergic drug scored lower on tests of cognitive function than those who were not using any such drugs, and that the death rate for the heavy users during the course of the study was 68 percent higher. © 2012 The New York Times Company

Deadly Duo: Mixing Alcohol and Prescription Drugs Can Result in Addiction or Accidental Death

By Melinda Wenner Moyer The mystery of Whitney Houston's death will not be solved for several weeks, as the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office awaits a full toxicology report. But many experts speculate that the singer's tragic demise involved a deadly cocktail of alcohol and prescription drugs, including Xanax. Houston wouldn't be the first star to suffer such a fate: Heath Ledger, Michael Jackson and Anna Nicole Smith are all thought to have died in part from prescription drug overdoses, which can involve painkillers, sedatives and stimulants, often in combination with alcohol. But the problem extends far beyond Hollywood. In 2007 some 27,000 Americans died from unintentional prescription drug overdoses—making prescription drugs a more common cause of accidental death in many states than car crashes are. Although sedatives are thought to have played a role in Houston’s death, most prescription drug overuse involves opioid painkillers. Approximately 3 to 5 percent of people who take pain medication eventually end up addicted, according to Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, an arm of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. And "individuals who have a past history of a substance-use disorder—from smoking, drinking or other drugs—are at greater risk," she says. Addiction to other classes of prescription drugs such as sedatives, stimulants and sleep medications is thought to be less common—but it occurs, and even users who do not become compulsively addicted can, over time, become physically dependent and experience intense withdrawal symptoms when their prescriptions run out. They might also develop drug tolerance, the need to take higher doses over time to feel the same effects. © 2012 Scientific American

Related chapters from BP6e: Chapter 4: The Chemical Bases of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 4: The Chemistry of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
Link ID: 16427 - Posted: 02.25.2012

Cocaine and the teen brain

New findings might help explain why risk of drug abuse and addiction increase so dramatically when cocaine use begins during teenage years. When first exposed to cocaine, the adolescent brain launches a strong defensive reaction designed to minimize the drug’s effects, according to scientists. Now two new studies by a Yale University team identify key genes that regulate this response and show that interfering with this reaction dramatically increases a mouse’s sensitivity to cocaine. The results were published in the February 14 and February 21, 2012 issues of the Journal of Neuroscience. Research has shown that vulnerability to cocaine is much higher in adolescence, when the brain is shifting from an explosive and plastic growth phase to more settled and refined neural connections characteristic of adults. Photo credit: Lil Larkie Researchers have shown that vulnerability to cocaine is much higher in adolescence, when the brain is shifting from an explosive and plastic growth phase to more settled and refined neural connections characteristic of adults. Past studies at Yale University have shown that the neurons and their synaptic connections in adolescence change shape when first exposed to cocaine through molecular pathway regulated by the gene integrin beta1, which is crucial to the development of the nervous system of vertebrates. Anthony Koleske, professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry and of neurobiology At Yale University, is senior author of both papers. He said: This suggests that these structural changes observed are probably protective of the neurocircuitry, an effort of the neuron to protect itself when first exposed to cocaine. © 2011 Earthsky Communications Inc.

Experts Tell the Truth about Pot

By Hal Arkowitz and Scott O. Lilienfeld In the classic 1936 cult film Reefer Madness, well-adjusted high school students who try marijuana suddenly sink into a life of addiction, promiscuity, aggression, academic failure, homicide and mental illness. The movie concludes with the ominous warning that “The dread marijuana may be reaching forth next for your son or daughter ... or yours ... or YOURS!” Newspaper headlines of the day often reflected a similar sentiment. On February 10, 1938, a headline in the Beloit (Wisc.) Daily News read, “Authorities Warn against Spread of Marijuana Habit—Insanity, Degeneracy and Violence Follow Use of Weed.” Such a position on pot seems extreme. Yet just as people have since cast aside the notion that marijuana use inevitably culminates in the destruction of the mind, so have they also begun to question the concept that it is benign. In particular, some evidence suggests that marijuana can, in some cases, be addictive and that it may present other health problems as well, particularly in heavy users. That said, most people suffer no ill effects from a single or occasional use of the drug. Marijuana, which is also known as cannabis, is the most widely used illicit substance in the world, according to a United Nations report from 2002. Recreational use is widespread in the U.S., and medical use is on the rise. In a 2007 study psychologist Louisa Degenhardt of Michigan State University and her colleagues found that 43 percent of U.S. adults aged 18 or older have tried marijuana at least once. Many adolescents are drawn to the drug as well. In the large, ongoing Monitoring the Future study, researchers at the University of Michigan found that 14 percent of eighth graders had used marijuana at least once in the previous year with the number increasing to 35 percent for 12th graders. Marijuana use will undoubtedly grow in the near future because 16 states have already legalized it for medical use, and many more are considering legislation that would make it legal. © 2012 Scientific American

Related chapters from BP6e: Chapter 4: The Chemical Bases of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 4: The Chemistry of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
Link ID: 16418 - Posted: 02.23.2012

With Billions in Grant Money, Leverage to Curb Smoking

By REEVE HAMILTON Despite polls showing overwhelming public support and endorsements from celebrities like Lance Armstrong, efforts to establish a statewide smoking ban in the workplace have fallen flat in recent sessions of the Texas Legislature. But a state agency is finding that the billions of dollars it has at its disposal may allow it to be more effective in getting comprehensive tobacco-free policies established — most notably, at university campuses. University administrators around the state are considering campuswide tobacco-free policies as a result of new rules established by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. In January, the institute’s oversight committee adopted a policy that requires grant recipients to have policies prohibiting tobacco use in buildings and structures where financed research is occurring, as well as at the outdoor areas immediately adjacent to those buildings. The grant recipients must also provide smoking cessation services for community members who desire them. For schools that pride themselves on their research function, like the University of Texas at Austin — it has received about $30 million in grants from the institute and is hoping for $88 million more — there is a clear financial incentive to institute changes. © 2012 The New York Times Company

Related chapters from BP6e: Chapter 4: The Chemical Bases of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 4: The Chemistry of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
Link ID: 16404 - Posted: 02.20.2012

FDA to review inhalable caffeine

By RODRIQUE NGOWI BOSTON — U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials plan to investigate whether inhalable caffeine sold in lipstick-sized canisters is safe for consumers and if its manufacturer was right to brand it as a dietary supplement. AeroShot went on the market late last month in Massachusetts and New York, and it's also available in France. Consumers put one end of the canister in their mouths and breathe in, releasing a fine powder that dissolves almost instantly. Each grey-and-yellow plastic canister contains B vitamins, plus 100 milligrams of caffeine powder, about the equivalent of the caffeine in a large cup of coffee. AeroShot inventor, Harvard biomedical engineering professor David Edwards, says the product is safe and doesn't contain taurine and other common additives used to enhance the caffeine effect in energy drinks. AeroShot didn't require FDA review before hitting the U.S. market because it's sold as a dietary supplement. But New York's U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said he met with FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg and she agreed to review the safety and legality of AeroShot. "I am worried about how a product like this impacts kids and teens, who are particularly vulnerable to overusing a product that allows one to take hit after hit after hit, in rapid succession," Schumer said. © 2012 msnbc.com

Related chapters from BP6e: Chapter 4: The Chemical Bases of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 4: The Chemistry of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
Link ID: 16403 - Posted: 02.20.2012

Tipsy Fruit Flies on a Mission

By CARL ZIMMER Fruit flies may seem as if they lead an uneventful life. They look for old fruit to lay their eggs. The maggots then hatch and graze on the yeast and bacteria that make the fruit rot. In reality, however, these flies have to do battle with horrifying enemies. Tiny wasps seek out the maggots and lay eggs inside them. The wasps develop inside the still living flies, feeding on their tissues. When the wasps reach adult size, they crawl out of the dying bodies of their hosts. The flies are not helpless victims, however. In the journal Current Biology, Todd Schlenke, an Emory University biologist, and his colleagues report a remarkable defense the insects use: To kill their parasites, the flies get drunk. Dr. Schlenke discovered this tactic while studying the common fruit fly species Drosophila melanogaster. As they eat yeast, they also eat the alcohol that the yeast produce while breaking down sugar. Their fermentation can leave a rotting banana with an alcohol concentration higher than that of a bottle of beer. This boozy environment can be toxic to animals. The only reason Drosophila melanogaster thrives on rotting fruit is that it has evolved special enzymes that quickly detoxify alcohol. Dr. Schlenke was well aware that many insects gain defenses from their food. Monarch butterflies, for example, are protected from birds by the toxic compounds they get from the milkweed plants they eat. To see how alcohol influences the enemies of the flies, Dr. Schlenke unleashed a parasitic wasp, Leptopilina heterotoma. © 2012 The New York Times Company

Related chapters from BP6e: Chapter 4: The Chemical Bases of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology; Chapter 6: Evolution of the Brain and Behavior
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 4: The Chemistry of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
Link ID: 16396 - Posted: 02.18.2012

Expect OxyContin health crisis, warns First Nations leader

An Ontario First Nations leader says a catastrophe is looming with the decision to stop manufacturing the drug OxyContin. Nishnawbe Aski Nation Chief Stan Beardy says thousands of residents of Ontario reserves are addicted to the drug, which is up to twice as strong as morphine. The organization, which represents 49 First Nation communities in northern Ontario, estimates close to half its members are addicted to OxyContin. Health Canada says when the pill is chewed or crushed, then injected or inhaled, it produces a "heroin-like euphoria." The company that produces OxyContin will stop manufacturing the drug in Canada at the end of the month. Purdue Pharma Canada will replace OxyContin with a new formulation called OxyNEO, which is formulated to make abuse more difficult. Beardy says addicts will go into withdrawal, and that scares him. Benedikt Fischer of the Centre for Applied Mental Health and Addictions at B.C.'s Simon Fraser University says there will be a lot of sick people. He says without treatment to help deal with the addiction, a public-health catastrophe is imminent. Copyright © CBC 2012

Smoking pot doubles car accident risk

Smoking marijuana a couple of hours before you drive almost doubles your chances of having a serious car crash, say Canadian researchers. The study led by Associate Professor Mark Asbridge from Dalhousie University in Halifax, is the first to review of data from drivers who had been treated for serious injuries or died in car accidents. "To our knowledge this meta-analysis is the first to examine the association between acute cannabis use and the risk of motor vehicle collisions in real life," the researchers write in the latest issue of the British Medical Journal. The researchers reviewed nine observational studies with a total sample of 49,411 accident victims. To rule out the effects of alcohol or other drugs the researchers calculated the odds for cases where cannabis — but no alcohol or other drugs — was detected in blood test or the driver had reported smoking three hours before crash. They found that smoking cannabis three hours before driving nearly doubled a driver's risk of having a motor vehicle accident. But the level of tetrahydrocannabionol (THC) — the active compound in marijauna — in the blood that leads to impairment is unclear as most of the studies just measured for the presence of THC in the blood. © CBC 2012

Related chapters from BP6e: Chapter 4: The Chemical Bases of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 4: The Chemistry of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
Link ID: 16369 - Posted: 02.11.2012

Still crazy: Some dabble in hard drugs after 50, researchers find

By Diane Mapes The specter of a burned-out Baby Boomer using hard drugs way into middle age may conjure images of addiction, destruction and death. That certainly can be true, but it’s not the complete picture, at least according to a new study from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who found that people who occasionally use drugs like cocaine, amphetamines and opiates over the course of their lives are more common than anyone might suspect. “When you think of a drug user, you often think of someone strung-out, using every day, and in deep trouble, but national data shows that that's not the most common thing you see," says Dr. Stefan Kertesz, an associate professor in the UAB Division of Preventive Medicine. “The most common pattern is illicit drug use at lower levels." In other words, these sporadic drug users are “dabblers,” says Kertesz, lead author of the study that followed more than 4,300 people from four cities recruited between the ages of 18 to 30 in 1985 and 1986 -- and then tracked them for almost 20 years. He confirmed what he suspected from his experience in clinical care: that some perfectly functional middle-agers still turn to the drugs of their youth. "I meet people who use harder drugs on an intermittent basis," says Kertesz, who was trying to find ways doctors can better help patients who use drugs recreationally. © 2012 msnbc.com

Related chapters from BP6e: Chapter 4: The Chemical Bases of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
Related chapters from MM:Chapter 4: The Chemistry of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
Link ID: 16336 - Posted: 02.04.2012

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