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From neurobiology to treatment: progress against addiction

Nature Neuroscience volume 5, pages 1076–1079 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

Most advances in addiction treatment to date have addressed the physical dependence and withdrawal that accompany addiction to some drugs of abuse. In contrast, it has proven more difficult to develop medications that effectively treat drug craving and relapse, the core features of addictive disorders. Current efforts focus on developing medications that prevent a drug from getting to its protein target, that mimic drug action and thereby partially alleviate drug craving, or that affect the addiction process per se. The latter approach is the most speculative, but also the most promising in terms of translating basic knowledge of addiction into clinical progress.

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Figure 1: General strategies used to treat drug addiction or associated physical withdrawal syndromes.

Debbie Maizels

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Acknowledgements

Preparation of this review was supported by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Center for Basic Neuroscience, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, 75390-9070, Texas, USA

    Eric J. Nestler

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  1. Eric J. Nestler
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Nestler, E. From neurobiology to treatment: progress against addiction. Nat Neurosci 5 (Suppl 11), 1076–1079 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn945

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