๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ญ ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐จ๐ง ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง?
Let me break it down for you, Holmes.
GLP-1, amylin, and ghrelin have implications in addiction with food, alcohol and other addictive behavior.
Imagine your brain is like a bustling city, and addiction is like an illegal party that keeps popping up in different neighborhoods.
To stop the party, the city uses three types of police forces:
GLP-1, amylin, and ghrelin regulators.
๐๐๐-๐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ซ๐๐
Actions:
GLP-1 units are like city patrols that quietly discourage people from attending the illegal party.
They make the party less exciting by reducing the wild behavior (like hyper locomotor activity) associated with it and making it less rewarding.
Special Ops:
They operate through specific stations (like brain regions) to dampen the excitement caused by the party.
Effectiveness:
While effective in reducing party attendance (relapse drinking) and calming the city (reducing anxiety and reward memory), they work better in certain neighborhoods (brain areas) more than others
๐๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ซ๐๐
Actions:
Amylin units are like rapid response teams that swoop in and quiet down the immediate chaos of the party.
They also help in reducing repeated disturbances (chronic alcohol intake)Special Ops: They often target trouble spots where the party is most disruptive (LDTg, VTA, or NAc shell)
Effectiveness:
They are not only good at controlling the acute phases of chaos but also prevent it from becoming a chronic issue. However, theyโre less studied compared to GLP-1.
๐๐ก๐ซ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ซ๐๐
Actions:
Ghrelin units are like undercover agents who know the main triggers that make people attend the illegal party.
By blocking these triggers, they prevent the excitement from spreading.
Special Ops:
They work directly in the heart of the cityโs entertainment district (reward areas in the brain) to keep the enthusiasm for the party in check.
Effectiveness:
They attenuate not just the immediate fun of the party but also the motivations behind attending it (reward and motivation)
Clinical Implications and Future DirectionsTreatment Combinations: Using these police forces together (combination therapies) can create a more robust system to control addiction
read the article this post was based on here:
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnins.2021.774050/full