Interaction between stress and addictions: Contributions from Latin-American Neuroscience

Drug addiction is a chronic neuropsychiatric disorder that escalates from an initial exposure to drugs of abuse, such as cocaine, cannabis or heroin, to compulsive drug-seeking and intake, reduced ability to inhibit craving behaviors and repeated cycles of abstinence and relapse. It is well-known that long-lasting
changes in the brain’s reward system play an important role in the neurobiology of addiction. Remarkably, environmental factors such as acute or chronic stress increase the risk for this disorder. In Latin-America, there has been growing efforts to investigate the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which stress heightens vulnerability to addiction. Indeed, accumulating evidence from preclinical and human studies conducted by Latin-American based neuroscientist have identified important molecular players. This review is the first attempt to compile the contributions from scientists based in Latin- America to the understanding of the neurobiology of addiction, with special focus on the effects of acute and chronic stress on addictive behaviors. Furthermore, we follow a translational approach to bridge knowledge from basic and clinical research to potentially open new avenues for the development of novel therapeutic strategies to treat addiction.

1. Publicación en revista internacional indexada
2. Vinculación de miembros de la Unidad de Neurociencias
3. Establecimiento de redes de colaboración