Complex roles for astrocytes in health and disease continue to emerge, highlighting this
class of cells as integral to function and dysfunction of the nervous system. In particular …

Much research supports a link between stress and its concomitant hypothalamic–pituitary–
adrenal (HPA) axis responses with behavioral sensitivity to psychoactive drugs. Our …

Despite what is often believed, the majority of those who experiment with substances with a
dependence potential do not develop dependence. However, there is a subpopulation of …

Addiction is considered to be a brain disease caused by chronic exposure to drugs.
Sensitization of brain dopamine (DA) systems partly mediates this effect. Pathological …

Astrocytes actively participate in synaptic plasticity and respond to insult or metabotropic
glutamate receptor activation with increased expression of the intermediate filament glial …

Repeated exposure to psychomotor stimulants produces a striking behavioral syndrome
involving repetitive, stereotypic behaviors that occur if an additional exposure to the …

Chronic cocaine use in humans and animal models is known to lead to pronounced
alterations in neuronal function in brain regions associated with drug reinforcement. To …

The current report assessed the effects of low-level proton irradiation in inbred adult male
Fischer 344 and Lewis rats performing an analog of the human Psychomotor Vigilance Test …

Background: Pharmacogenetics uses genetic variation to predict individual differences in
response to medications and holds much promise to improve treatment of addictive …

Stimulant drugs have been shown either to increase or decrease rates of delay discounting
(impulsive choice). These mixed findings may result from genetic, neurochemical, or …