Computer model shows changes in brain mechanisms for cocaine addicts
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 - 04:07
in Psychology & Sociology
About 2 million Americans currently use cocaine for its temporary side-effects of euphoria, which have contributed to making it one of the most dangerous and addictive drugs in the country. Cocaine addiction, which can cause severe biological and behavioural problems, is very difficult to overcome. Now, University of Missouri researchers Ashwin Mohan and Sandeep Pendyam, doctoral students in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, are utilising computational models to study how the brain's chemicals and synaptic mechanisms, or connections between neurones, react to cocaine addiction and what this could mean for future therapies...