Jie Wu
Barrow Neurological Institute and St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center,
Phoenix AZ 85013
Tanzania
Editorial
Today in Psychopharmacology and Neuropharmacology
Author(s): Jie WuJie Wu
GABA is an important neurotransmitter involved in drug abuse and addiction. Accordingly, drugs that elevate brain GABA levels are thought to be promising for the treatment of addiction. In the present study, we report that tiagabine, a selective type 1 GABA transporter inhibitor that has been approved by the U.S. FDA as an anticonvulsant drug, may have therapeutic potential in reducing cocaine use. In vivo brain microdialysis studies demonstrated that systemic administration of tiagabine (3, 10, 20 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly elevated extracellular GABA levels in the nucleus accumbens in a dose-dependent manner. Pretreatment with tiagabine (3, 10 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly inhibited cocaineenhanced electrical brain-stimulation reward. Tiagabine alone, at 20 mg/kg, almost completely inhibited intracranial electrical brain-stimulation behavior. In addition, systemic administration of tia.. View More»
