Drugs Permanently Alter Brain Function in Some Adults

A new study supports the idea that recovery from an addiction is a life-long process. Researchers found that people who had abused substances such as cocaine permanently alter brain structures. Staying clean even for a long time couldn't reverse the changes in brain.

Experts have been trying to find out if the brain structure in drug addicts is pre-altered or changes after substance abuse. Knowing how drugs affect the brain can pave way for therapeutics that could help addicts recover.

"The knowledge that some neural changes associated with addiction persist despite long periods of abstinence is important because it supports clinical wisdom that recovery from addiction is a lifelong process," said Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry in a news release. "Further, it is the start of a deeper question: How do these persisting changes develop and how can they be reversed?"

The study was conducted by researchers at Institute of Living/Hartford Hospital and colleagues and included 124 adults, of whom 42 were current drug users and 35 had given up drugs. Researchers gave them tests that measured their impulsiveness and reward responding.

Study results showed that active drug users had changes in certain brain structures and that both present and former drug users had increased levels of impulsiveness.

The scientists said that some people have a pre-existing risk of developing addiction. They added that only a subset of all changes that occur after drug use normalizes during abstinence.

The study is published in the journal Biological Psychiatry.

Cocaine is a powerfully addictive central nervous system stimulant that is snorted, injected, or smoked. Heart attacks, respiratory failure, strokes, seizures, abdominal pain, and nausea are common risks of using the drug. In rare cases, sudden death can occur on the first use of cocaine or unexpectedly afterwards, according to National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA). A recent study had shown that the drug can increase activity in brain structures associated with learning and memory.