Eliminating Drug Associated Memories
June 3, 2009
When dealing with a drug addiction, many have to consider psychological addiction as well as the physical one. While many treatment programs (such as methadone clinics) often tackle the physical side of things, many addicts are often still stuck with the pyschological effects long after sobriety. Particular environments trigger memories which associate the addict with the drug, and the feeling of need returns. This can be difficult for the addict and unfortunately in many cases can lead them to relapse. I found an interesting concept in a recent article published by Physorg.com (April 2009), which touches upon how deal with these memories. The answer? Take them away.
Previous studies done have found an experimental drug called CDPPB which, when tested, proved to ease the power of certain memories. Research in this study was done on rats, through which researchers would inject the rats with cocaine in certain environments (I am not quite sure how I feel about the animal testing here, but that is another blog altogether!) Through observation the researchers found that after the injections the rats developed a preference for those environments when a placebo was given. After injecting the rats with the experimental drug CDPPB, this preference was observed to decrease. This process is defined as extinction learning, where new associations are created, rather than retrieving the old ones.
The results of this experiment were presented in hopes of being able to apply it in the human world, possibly in conjunction with exposure therapy. There were no details in the article about possible side effects and whether this solution is permanent.
I find this an interesting article and it really makes me think about whether this really works, and whether it would be accepted within society. While I can see the potential effectiveness of this drug I am hesitant about whether it is ethical. If this drug were to get into the wrong hands, it could be disasterous. However, if it is distributed in a controlled, structured environment, it may have the potential to ease the recovery process for many drug addicts.
