July 23, 1997

SAN FRANCISCO(BW HealthWire)
Scientists at the University of California San Francisco are using
the latest experimental techniques to try and solve the mysteries
surrounding the biological basis of being addicted.

The work is being carried out through UCSF's new Center for the
Neurobiology of Addiction.

Initial funding for the Center has been provided as a gift of
$500,000 from the Park Water Company, Inc., of Downey, Calif.,
through the initiative of Henry H. Wheeler, Jr., President. The
company has pledged a total of $5 million to support the Center
for 10 years.

Despite decades of governmentsupported efforts aimed at
prevention and treatment, addiction to heroin, cocaine,
amphetamines, nicotine and to alcohol and other depressants, as
well as abuse of other frequently used drugs, such as marijuana
and hallucinogens, still cost society hundreds of billions of
dollars annually and wreak devastation on millions of lives.

According to Robert Malenka, MD, PhD, professor of psychiatry
and physiology at UCSF, and director of the new Center, "The
failure of prevention and treatment of substance abuse is in part
due to the lack of understanding of the basic biological
mechanisms of how one loses control over drug intake. The
purpose of the Center is to foster innovative, creative and
collaborative approaches to understanding the biological basis of
addiction."

Clear evidence that drug dependence has a biological basis now
is well accepted among scientists who study addiction and by
professionals trained to treat it. But only recently has a new
understanding of the neural circuitry acted upon by addictive
drugs opened an opportunity to make major breakthroughs in
understanding the molecular mechanisms of drug addiction,
Malenka says.

Over the past few years, behavioral research with animals has
provided compelling evidence that addictive drugs usurp specific
brain areas and nerve circuitry. The neural circuits affected are
crucial in rewarding and reinforcing certain behaviors, especially
actions that are important to survival of the individual or of the
species. Such behaviors include, for instance, quenching a thirst,
satisfying a hunger, or engaging in sexual intercourse.

The transmission of nerve impulses through this network of
circuits can cause an individual to feel good about an experience
and to remember it as a pleasurable one. Drug use can be
experienced as rewarding in the same way. Chronic intake of
addictive substances modifies this circuitry, perhaps permanently,
Malenka says.

Participants in the new UCSF Center will investigate the
interactions of addictive drugs with molecular targets on the
brain's nerve cells. They will identify changes that arise in the
connections between these nerve cells, and will examine how
chronic drug exposure modifies the nerve circuits in affected brain
regions. These events are associated with the development of
drug tolerance, with withdrawal symptoms after drug use stops,
and with craving. At the behavioral level, the UCSF researchers
will study how these biological changes lead to the experience of
reward and to drugseeking behavior.

The Center brings together 10 core faculty leading cellular and
molecular neuroscientists at UCSF who already have made
seminal contributions to understanding the neurological
foundations of pain, pain relief, memory, learning and drug
tolerance, which are all phenomena that play a role in addiction.

Eventually, their discoveries will be applied by scientists and
clinicians who will work together to develop and test novel
treatments for addiction, Malenka says. UCSF clinicians already
are leaders in providing treatment to addicts through a variety of
programs and also conduct largescale clinical trials to analyze
the
effectiveness of new therapies.

In its first year, the Center will provide from five to 10 grants
of up
to $50,000 each to UCSF researchers who plan to conduct
innovative addictionrelated research. These grants will increase
in scope as the Center evolves and private support grows,
Malenka says. The Center also will offer courses in the
neurobiology of addiction, sponsor seminars featuring experts
from all over the world, and hold an annual meeting so that
researchers can share their findings.

CONTACT: UCSF | Jeffrey Norris, 415/4762557

[Copyright 1997, Business Wire]