Solving the problem of drug addiction has been a difficult task for many, ranging from lawmakers and enforcers to health care professionals and social workers. At UCSF's new Center for the Neurobiology of Addiction, basic scientists will join the battle against a problem that has devastated people from all walks of life.

"The time is ripe," says psychiatrist and neuroscientist Robert Malenka, who will direct a center which will bring together some of the campus' leading cellular and molecular scientists. New knowledge of the inner workings of the brain's circuitry can be linked to the problem of addiction, which is a result of drug-induced changes in the central nervous system.

"The purpose of the center is to foster innovative, creative and collaborative approaches to understanding the biological basis of addiction," says Malenka. "This campus has a long tradition of interdisciplinary and collaborative research."

The result could be important new advances that will lead to novel hypotheses of the mechanisms of drug addiction and, hopefully, more effective treatments.

While current treatments work for some drug addicts, scores of others are unable to curtail drug use. Like many diseases, the failure of prevention and treatment is in part due to the lack of understanding of the basic biological mechanisms of how one loses control over drug intake.

The center will focus on three major research areas: the molecular targets of addicting drugs; their cellular and synaptic actions; and the neural circuits involved in addiction. The center will also offer courses in the neurobiology of addiction, sponsor seminars featuring experts from all over the world, and hold an annual meeting so that researchers can share their findings.

More information on the center will be sent in coming weeks to campus research departments, says Malenka.

1st appeared 4/16/97