Abstract
Scientists have shown that viral delivery of Drd2, the gene encoding dopamine D2receptor, has a dramatic affect on the drinking behaviour of rats that prefer alcohol to water. The D2 receptors bind the neurotransmitter dopamine that is associated with pleasure and reward. Alcohol abuse has been shown to increase dopamine production and deplete the brain's D2 receptors. Panayotis Thanos and researchers at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (NY, USA) tested whether increasing D2 receptor levels in the nucleus accumbens, the brain's pleasure center, affected alcohol intake. The Drd2 gene therapy caused a significant drop in alcohol preference and alcohol intake levels. These results were published in September in the Journal of Neurochemistry. JW
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