ADDICTION STUDY WINS GRANT

Device At CU To Scan Brains For Biological Trigger

Friday, August 17, 2001 - The White House gave researchers at the
University of Colorado $4.2 million on Thursday to buy a brain- scanning
machine that could detect whether a brain quirk makes drug abusers more
prone to addiction.

Development of a portion of the brain called the singulum, which is
responsible for reason and decision-making, lags in people diagnosed with
schizophrenia, scientists have already discovered.

Those who abuse drugs may have the same problem.

"If we could detect these abnormal aspects, we're closer to finding
treatments to help people before they start," Dr. Robert Freedman, chairman
of psychiatry at the CU Health Sciences Center, said at a Fitzsimons news
conference.

It's a novel idea in the world of drug treatment, where prevention is now
tackled with a blanket approach in schools and on the streets. Eventually,
scientists hope to stave off addictions before they take hold, through
medication or early preventive treatment, targeted to those who carry the
genes.

Freedman believes that those with a well-functioning brain may rebelliously
experiment, but they're not likely to become addicts.

"If we could find a series of tests, we would no longer need to treat the
brain like a black box," said Albert Brandenstein, a policy director in
President Bush's anti-drug office who attended the news conference.

But the study doesn't address the psychological part of drug addiction,
which can be harder to overcome than the biology, some counselors said.

Too little attention and money are paid to getting at the root of the
problem: peer pressure and mental illness, both of which are often coupled
with drug abuse, said Win Winsor, clinical supervisor at Milestone
Counseling Services in Denver.

"The physiological is the least important part," Winsor said.

Even Dr. Thomas Crowley, who heads CU's Addiction, Research and Treatment
Services, admits that half the reason people take drugs probably has to do
with upbringing and environment. He just hopes that those with a genetic
predisposition could get attention a little earlier.

About 7 percent of the nation's youths are addicted to drugs.

The $3.5 million MRI machine will arrive at the university late next year,
with the rest of the grant money going to a building addition and other
expenses.

Researchers will study the brains of adolescent volunteers from Crowley's
inpatient treatment program.

"I think there are plenty of people who experiment, and then they're on to
something else in life," said Tim McCarthy, manager of adult services for
Arapahoe House Inc., a metro-area drug-treatment center. "Is that
environment? Maybe some of it. I don't have data, just a hunch that there
is some sort of predisposition in people."