Scientists Wipe Memories of Drug Addiction from Mice

• There are “thousands of potential triggers” that could cause a recovering addict to relapse. They can be logical, like the sight or smell of a drug, or they could be random and unrelated. Researchers believe these triggers are based in memory, but they’re using different mechanisms than everyday memories.
• According to the researchers, your memories manifest in dendritic spines, which are supported by a protein called actin. But for drug memories, the actin remains unstable, meaning those memories can be vulnerable. Previously, the researchers found drug called Latrunculin A can “attack” the unstable actin — but with a ton of additional risks.
• The researchers gave meth-addicted mice a drug called Blebb to inhibit an actin precursor instead, and they found that one dose “produced a long-lasting disruption of context-induced drug seeking.” Although we’re still a long way away from human trials, it’s an extremely exciting finding.

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