Molecular Biology of Drug Addiction

A comprehensive multidisciplinary review of the most relevant molecular, genetic, and behavioral approaches used to investigate the neurobiological basis of drug addiction. The authors explore the latest findings on opioid, psychostimulant, cannabinoid, alcohol, and nicotine addiction, provide fresh insights into the genetic basis of drug addiction and the new therapeutic perspectives these have opened. They describe the technology available to generate conditional knockout mice and show how these mice can reveal the molecular basis of opioid, psychostimulant, and cannabinoid addiction. They also review the different behavioral models available to evaluate the rewarding effects of drugs and analyze the genes involved in alcohol dependence.

Part I. Opioid Addiction. Molecular Mechanisms of Opioid Dependence by Using Knockout Mice, Brigitte L. Kieffer and Frédéric Simonin. Molecular Genetic Approaches, Theo Mantamadiotis, Günther Schütz, and Rafael Maldonado. Opiate Addiction: Role of the cAMP Pathway and CREB, Lisa M. Monteggia and Eric J. Nestler. Different Intracellular Signaling Systems Involved in Opioid Tolerance/Dependence, Thomas Koch, Stefan Schulz, and Volker Höllt. Inhibitors of the Enkephalin Catabolism: New Therapeutic Tool in Opioid Dependence, Florence Noble and Bernard P. Roques. Part II. Psychostimulant Addiction. Recent Advances in the Molecular Mechanisms of Psychostimulant Abuse Using Knockout Mice, Cécile Spielewoy and Bruno Giros. Opioid Modulation of Psychomotor Stimulant Effects, Toni S. Shippenberg and Vladimir I. Chefer. Influence of Environmental and Hormonal Factors in Sensitivity to Psychostimulants, Michela Marinelli and Pier Vincenzo Piazza. Development and Expression of Behavioral Sensitization: Temporal Profile of Changes in Gene Expression, Peter W. Kalivas. Part III. Cannabinoid Addiction. New Advances in the Identification and Physiological Roles of the Components of the Endogenous Cannabinoid System, Ester Fride and Raphael Mechoulam. Integration of Molecular and Behavioral Approaches to Evaluate Cannabinoid Dependence, Dana E. Selley, Aron H. Lichtman, and Billy R. Martin. Opioid System Involvement in Cannabinoid Tolerance and Dependence, Rafael Maldonado. Part IV. Alcohol and Nicotine Addiction. Current Strategies for Identifying Genes for Alcohol Sensitivity, John C. Crabbe. Genetic Basis of Ethanol Reward, Christopher L. Cunningham and Tamara J. Phillips. Behavioral and Molecular Aspects of Alcohol Craving and Relapse, Rainer Spanagel. Molecular and Behavioral Aspects of Nicotine Reward, Emilio Merlo Pich, Cristian Heidbreder, Manolo Mugnaini, and Vincenzo Teneggi. Index.