Imaging of the striatal dopamine system continues to dominate studies using positron
emission tomography (PET) in substance use disorders (SUD). A key reason for this
is the stability of the findings: most studies imaging the dopamine D2 family of receptors (D2R) and stimulant-induced dopamine release show blunting of
striatal dopamine transmission in subjects with addiction. This phenotype is seen
across SUDs, including cocaine, nicotine, alcohol, opiate, and methamphetamine. Reduced
binding at the D2R persists independently of many clinical factors, and this effect
is maintained following days to months of abstinence. The functional implications
of blunted striatal dopamine transmission in the pathophysiology of addiction are
becoming more evident, as shown by animal and human studies, such as that reported
in this issue of Biological Psychiatry by Casey et al. (
1
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References
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
April 25,
2014
Received:
April 24,
2014
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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- Reduced Dopamine Response to Amphetamine in Subjects at Ultra-High Risk for AddictionBiological PsychiatryVol. 76Issue 1
