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Premature poking: impulsivity, cocaine and dopamine

Nature Medicine volume 13, pages 413–414 (2007)Cite this article

'Impulsivity' occurs frequently in people with addiction and other common disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Experiments in rats suggest that reduced dopamine receptor availability in the brain's ventral striatum may underlie links between impulsivity and addiction.

Dalley et al.1 have devised an experimental system that connects 'impulsivity', dopamine and addiction in rats. The approach, described in a recent issue of Science, suggests that rats chosen for impulsivity also self-administer large amounts of cocaine. The rats also have fewer available D2 class dopamine receptors in the ventral striatum, a site for circuits that underlie reward, movement and responses to novelty.

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Figure 1: Impulsivity model.

Ann Thomson

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The author is in the Molecular Neurobiology Branch, US National Institutes of Health Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Box 5180, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, USA. GUHL@intra.nida.nih.gov,

    George Uhl

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  1. George Uhl
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The author declares no competing financial interests.

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Uhl, G. Premature poking: impulsivity, cocaine and dopamine. Nat Med 13, 413–414 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0407-413

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