Tag: Heath Schmidt

Unveiling the Brain’s Reward Circuitry

sarah JonasResearch Results

A research team – co-led by Penn Nursing – has made a significant breakthrough in understanding the complex neural circuitry underlying reward and addiction by identifying 34 distinct subtypes of medium spiny neurons (MSNs) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a key brain region involved in pleasure and motivation. The findings, published in the journal Scientific Reports by Nature, offer insights into the diversity of these neurons and their potential roles in substance use disorders.

Scaling the Model of Care for Patients with Opioid Use Disorder

sarah JonasResearch Results

Data show that concurrent with the opioid overdose crisis, there has been an increase in hospitalizations of people with opioid use disorder (OUD). One in ten of these hospitalized medical or surgical patients have comorbid opioid-related diagnoses.

Novel Anti-Craving Mechanism Discovered to Treat Cocaine Relapse

sarah JonasResearch Results

Cocaine continues to be one of the most commonly abused illicit drugs in the United States. Pre-clinical literature suggests that targeting glucagon-like peptide-1 receptors (GLP-1Rs) in the brain may represent a novel approach to treating cocaine use disorder. Specifically, GLP-1R agonists, which are FDA-approved for treating diabetes and obesity, have been shown to reduce voluntary drug taking and seeking in preclinical models of cocaine used disorder. However, the exact neural circuits and cell types that mediate the suppressive effects of GLP-1R agonists on cocaine-seeking behavior are mostly unknown.