Mechanisms of Action and Persistent Neuroplasticity by Drugs of Abuse

"Mechanisms of Action and Persistent Neuroplasticity by Drugs of Abuse"

Pharmacological Reviews October 2015, 67 (4) 872-1004

Esa R. Korpi, Bjørnar den Hollander, Usman Farooq, Elena Vashchinkina, Ramamoorthy Rajkumar, David J. Nutt, Petri Hyytiä and Gavin S. Dawe

Markku Koulu, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

"The purpose of this review is to present up-to-date knowledge of the mechanisms of action of the main drugs of abuse and to reveal the possible long-term alterations in the nervous system associated with the use and abuse of various drugs acting on the brain, also paying attention to the trajectory of brain development."

http://pharmrev.aspetjournals.org/content/67/4/872

It's the full version, very long, so if you like you can skip to:

"E. Benzodiazepines and Other GABAergic Drugs

Benzodiazepines (BZs) were introduced to clinical use as anxiolytics in the 1960s, and soon they displaced barbiturates and similar compounds as safer and more efficient anxiolytics and hypnotics. BZs were acutely well-tolerated and patients are usually compliant with the therapy. Unfortunately, anxiety did not always vanish. Soon, problems with their use emerged as some patients developed tolerance, and in many users attempts to withdraw from the medication lead to a return of the initial anxiety symptoms. This apparently led to a strong urge for continued use, with, in some patients, considerable difficulty in cutting down chronic BZ medication and possibly a negative effect on concurrent cognitive therapy (e.g., Westra and Stewart, 1998; Vorma et al., 2002). ..."

"Mechanisms of Action and Persistent Neuroplasticity by Drugs of Abuse"

Pharmacological Reviews October 2015, 67 (4) 872-1004

Esa R. Korpi, Bjørnar den Hollander, Usman Farooq, Elena Vashchinkina, Ramamoorthy Rajkumar, David J. Nutt, Petri Hyytiä and Gavin S. Dawe

Markku Koulu, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

 

"The purpose of this review is to present up-to-date knowledge of the mechanisms of action of the main drugs of abuse and to reveal the possible long-term alterations in the nervous system associated with the use and abuse of various drugs acting on the brain, also paying attention to the trajectory of brain development."

 

http://pharmrev.aspetjournals.org/content/67/4/872

 

 

It's the full version, very long, so if you like you can skip to:

 

"E. Benzodiazepines and Other GABAergic Drugs

 

Benzodiazepines (BZs) were introduced to clinical use as anxiolytics in the 1960s, and soon they displaced barbiturates and similar compounds as safer and more efficient anxiolytics and hypnotics. BZs were acutely well-tolerated and patients are usually compliant with the therapy. Unfortunately, anxiety did not always vanish. Soon, problems with their use emerged as some patients developed tolerance, and in many users attempts to withdraw from the medication lead to a return of the initial anxiety symptoms. This apparently led to a strong urge for continued use, with, in some patients, considerable difficulty in cutting down chronic BZ medication and possibly a negative effect on concurrent cognitive therapy (e.g., Westra and Stewart, 1998; Vorma et al., 2002). ..."

Thanks for posting this.

All 3 main pillars in the Benzodiazaphine model affect Neuroplasticity  (both homeostatic plasticity of neural circuts and classical  LTP/LTD)

Glutamatergic

GABAergic

Stress system and associated stress hormones.

Also see section I.G. In the link above.  BDNF and it’s effects on the GABAERGIC system.

There’s also hundreds of neuromodulators involved in the homeostatic plasticity of neural circuits which affect inhibitory and excitatory balance in the circut.

Thanks again.  I’m Looking forward to reading this!

section I is very good.

It provides a great overview of several forms of Neuroplasticity

Short term synaptic plasticity (mostly presynaptic // w and wo retrograde signaling). See fig 2

Long term synaptic plasticity (LTP and LTD) (pre and postsynaptic // w and wo retrograde signaling) see fig 3

      Hebbian and anti-Hebbian. 

Developmental plasticity

Homeostatic plasticity (brief mention)

Metaplasticity

section I is very good.

 

It provides a great overview of several forms of Neuroplasticity

 

Short term synaptic plasticity (mostly presynaptic // w and wo retrograde signaling). See fig 2

Long term synaptic plasticity (LTP and LTD) (pre and postsynaptic // w and wo retrograde signaling) see fig 3

      Hebbian and anti-Hebbian. 

Developmental plasticity

Homeostatic plasticity (brief mention)

Metaplasticity

:thumbsup:

Ta, -wont say how many hours it took...

And I only realy read benzos, opiates, and  cannabis...

Best wishes...