articles

ezeK · Thu May 19, 2005 8:46 pm

Memory and Addiction:
Shared Neural Circuitry and Molecular Mechanisms
by Ann E. Kelley
Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience Training Program
University of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School 6001 Research Park Boulevard Madison, Wisconsin 53719

http://rapidshare.de/files/1856799/Memory_and_Addiction_-_Shared_Neural_Circuitry_and_Molecular_Mechanisms.pdf.html

Abstract
An important conceptual advance in the past decade
has been the understanding that the process of drug
addiction shares striking commonalities with neural
plasticity associated with natural reward learning and
memory. Basic mechanisms involving dopamine, gluin
tamate, and their intracellular and genomic targets
have been the focus of attention in this research area.
These two neurotransmitter systems, widely distribcoordinated
uted in many regions of cortex, limbic system, and
basal ganglia, appear to play a key integrative role
in motivation, learning, and memory, thus modulating
adaptive behavior. However, many drugs of abuse ex-
ert their primary effects precisely on these pathways
and are able to induce enduring cellular alterations in
motivational networks, thus leading to maladaptive
behaviors. Current theories and research on this topic
are reviewed from an integrative systems perspective,
with special emphasis on cellular, molecular, and beultimately
havioral aspects of dopamine D-1 and glutamate NMDA
signaling, instrumental learning, and drug cue conditioning.

ezeK · Thu May 19, 2005 8:48 pm

Free radicals and aging
by Gustavo Barja
Department of Animal Physiology-II, Faculty of Biology, Complutense University, Madrid 28040, Spain

http://rapidshare.de/files/1856789/Free_radicals_and_aging.pdf.html

Abstract
Aging is characterized by decrements in maximum
function and accumulation of mitochondrial DNA
mutations, which are best observed in organs such as
the brain that contain post-mitotic cells. Oxygen radicals
are increasingly considered responsible for part of these
aging changes. Comparative studies of animals with
different aging rates have shown that the rate of
mitochondrial oxygen radical generation is directly
related to the steady-state level of oxidative damage to
mitochondrial DNA and is inversely correlated with
maximum longevity in higher vertebrates. The degree
of unsaturation of tissue fatty acids also correlates
inversely with maximum longevity. These are the two
known traits connecting oxidative stress with aging.
Furthermore, caloric restriction, which decreases the
rate of aging, proportionately decreases mitochondrial
oxygen radical generation, especially at complex I.
These findings are reviewed, highlighting the results
obtained in the brain.

ezeK · Thu May 19, 2005 8:58 pm

Molecular mechanisms of drug addiction
by Eric J. Nestler
Department of Psychiatry and Center for Basic Neuroscience,
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390-9070, USA

http://rapidshare.de/files/1856810/Molecular_mechanisms_of_drug_addiction.pdf.html

Abstract
Regulation of gene expression is one mechanism by which drugs of abuse can induce relatively long-lasting changes in the brain to cause a state of addiction. Here, we focus on two transcription factors, CREB (cAMP response element binding protein) and DFosB, which contribute to drug-induced changes in gene expression. Both are activated in the nucleus accumbens, a major brain reward region, but mediate different aspects of the addicted state. CREB mediates a form of tolerance and dependence, which dampens an individual’s sensitivity to subsequent drug exposure and contributes to a negative emotional state during early phases
of withdrawal. In contrast, DFosB mediates a state of relatively prolonged sensitization to drug exposure and may contribute to the increased drive and motivation for drug, which is a core symptom of addictive disorders. A major goal of current research is to identify the many target genes through which CREB and DFosB mediate these behavioral states. In addition, future work needs to understand how CREB and DFosB, acting in concert with numerous other drug-induced molecular changes in nucleus accumbens and many other brain regions, interact with one another to produce the complex behavioral phenotype that defines addiction.

ezeK · Thu May 19, 2005 9:00 pm

The_Heffter_Review_of_Psychedelic_Research__vol_1__1998
http://rapidshare.de/files/1856723/The_Heffter_Review_of_Psychedelic_Research__vol_1__1998_.rar.html

The_Heffter_Review_of_Psychedelic_Research__vol_2__2001

http://rapidshare.de/files/1856734/The_Heffter_Review_of_Psychedelic_Research__vol_2__2001_.rar.html