UCSF Scientists Use Latest Techniques to Study Biological
Basis of Drug Addiction at New Center 

      July 23, 1997

      SAN FRANCISCO(BW HealthWire) 
      Scientists at the University of California San Francisco are using
      the latest experimental techniques to try and solve the mysteries
      surrounding the biological basis of being addicted. 

      The work is being carried out through UCSF's new Center for the
      Neurobiology of Addiction. 

      Initial funding for the Center has been provided as a gift of
      $500,000 from the Park Water Company, Inc., of Downey, Calif.,
      through the initiative of Henry H. Wheeler, Jr., President. The
      company has pledged a total of $5 million to support the Center
      for 10 years. 

      Despite decades of governmentsupported efforts aimed at
      prevention and treatment, addiction to heroin, cocaine,
      amphetamines, nicotine and to alcohol and other depressants, as
      well as abuse of other frequently used drugs, such as marijuana
      and hallucinogens, still cost society hundreds of billions of
      dollars annually and wreak devastation on millions of lives. 

      According to Robert Malenka, MD, PhD, professor of psychiatry
      and physiology at UCSF, and director of the new Center, "The
      failure of prevention and treatment of substance abuse is in part
      due to the lack of understanding of the basic biological
      mechanisms of how one loses control over drug intake. The
      purpose of the Center is to foster innovative, creative and
      collaborative approaches to understanding the biological basis of
      addiction." 

      Clear evidence that drug dependence has a biological basis now
      is well accepted among scientists who study addiction and by
      professionals trained to treat it. But only recently has a new
      understanding of the neural circuitry acted upon by addictive
      drugs opened an opportunity to make major breakthroughs in
      understanding the molecular mechanisms of drug addiction,
      Malenka says. 

      Over the past few years, behavioral research with animals has
      provided compelling evidence that addictive drugs usurp specific
      brain areas and nerve circuitry. The neural circuits affected are
      crucial in rewarding and reinforcing certain behaviors, especially
      actions that are important to survival of the individual or of the
      species. Such behaviors include, for instance, quenching a thirst,
      satisfying a hunger, or engaging in sexual intercourse. 

      The transmission of nerve impulses through this network of
      circuits can cause an individual to feel good about an experience
      and to remember it as a pleasurable one. Drug use can be
      experienced as rewarding in the same way. Chronic intake of
      addictive substances modifies this circuitry, perhaps permanently,
      Malenka says. 

      Participants in the new UCSF Center will investigate the
      interactions of addictive drugs with molecular targets on the
      brain's nerve cells. They will identify changes that arise in the
      connections between these nerve cells, and will examine how
      chronic drug exposure modifies the nerve circuits in affected brain
      regions. These events are associated with the development of
      drug tolerance, with withdrawal symptoms after drug use stops,
      and with craving. At the behavioral level, the UCSF researchers
      will study how these biological changes lead to the experience of
      reward and to drugseeking behavior. 

      The Center brings together 10 core faculty  leading cellular and
      molecular neuroscientists at UCSF  who already have made
      seminal contributions to understanding the neurological
      foundations of pain, pain relief, memory, learning and drug
      tolerance, which are all phenomena that play a role in addiction. 

      Eventually, their discoveries will be applied by scientists and
      clinicians who will work together to develop and test novel
      treatments for addiction, Malenka says. UCSF clinicians already
      are leaders in providing treatment to addicts through a variety of
      programs and also conduct largescale clinical trials to analyze 
the
      effectiveness of new therapies. 

      In its first year, the Center will provide from five to 10 grants 
of up
      to $50,000 each to UCSF researchers who plan to conduct
      innovative addictionrelated research. These grants will increase
      in scope as the Center evolves and private support grows,
      Malenka says. The Center also will offer courses in the
      neurobiology of addiction, sponsor seminars featuring experts
      from all over the world, and hold an annual meeting so that
      researchers can share their findings. 

      CONTACT: UCSF | Jeffrey Norris, 415/4762557 

      [Copyright 1997, Business Wire]