STUDIES PROVE RATS CAN BECOME DRUG ADDICTS

Results may help unravel human addiction questions

WASHINGTON - Rats can become drug addicts.

Until now, scientists have been able to prove that rats will take drugs,
even eagerly, but not that they're actually addicted. The new research was
published yesterday in the journal Science.

That's important to know, scientists say, and has taken a long time to
prove. Now two studies by French and British researchers show the animals
exhibit the same compulsive drive for cocaine as people do once they're
truly hooked.

Only through experiments with addicted animals can scientists eventually
learn what makes some people particularly vulnerable to addiction while
others can quit at will, addiction specialists say.

Addicted rats also could help uncover new anti-drug therapies.

"What confers susceptibility to experimenting and trying drugs may be quite
different than what changes your brain and leads to addiction," explained
Terry E. Robinson, a University of Michigan neuroscientist.

"There's some fundamental shift" between casual drug use and addiction,
added David Shurtleff, chief of basic neurological research at the U.S.
National Institute on Drug Abuse.