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© 1983 Medical Council on Alcohol

research-article

NEUROPEPTIDES AND ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOUR

JAN M. VAN REE

Rudolf Magnus Institute for Pharmacology, Medical Faculty, University of Utrecht Vondellaan 6, 3521 GD Utrecht, The Netherlands

Received 29 April 1983; A common denominator for the occurrence of abuse with various drugs is their reinforcing action, which can be analysed reliably in experimental animals by drug self-administration. This behaviour is influenced by external factors, drug-induced alterations of homeostatic mechanisms in the body and by internal factors. These internal factors are directly related to reinforcement or could modulate the drug-induced reinforcing activity. Experimental data show that the opioid peptide ß-endorphin acts as a positive reinforcer in rats and that desglycinamide9 -arginine8 -vasopressin decreases acquisition of heroin self-administration in these animals. It is concluded that brain neuropeptide systems are operative in the reward mechanism and may be implicated in the acquisition of drug seeking behaviour; this may be of relevance to the underlying mechanisms of drug addiction.


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