Science: Chilean Researchers Discover Drug-Craving Brain Region in Rats

Chilean researchers have identified a region of the brain—the insular cortex—that plays a role in drug craving in amphetamine-addicted rats, according to a report published in the 26 October issue of the journal Science.

This finding ultimately may help support the development of new therapies to treat drug addiction as well as certain behavioral side effects of medications, the authors said in an interview.

"Our finding that blocking the insula prevents the craving for amphetamine in amphetamine-dependent rats indicates to us that this region of the brain processes information about the physiological states of the body and may guide behavior," explained researcher Fernando Torrealba of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.

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