About 2 million Americans currently use cocaine for its euphoric side effects making it one of the most dangerous and addictive drugs available. The severe biological and behavioral issues that result from cocaine addiction make it especially difficult to overcome.

Researchers in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Missouri are using computer models to map and study how the brain reacts to cocaine addiction. The study focuses on the chemical Glutamate, which is released in the synaptic connections in the brain.

Different levels of Glutamate determine how active the connections are. An addict?s brain produces excess Glutamate in the pleasure center causing permanent damage and stopping the brain?s mechanisms from regulating themselves. The proteins that remove Glutamate in the brain have shown to be 40 percent less functional after constant cocaine usage, meaning an addicts brain structure is actually changed.

The long-term goal of the research is to create a working model of an addict?s brain in order to test rehabilitative drugs. By using this systems approach the researchers were able to discover key clues about the addicted brain that had been missed in the past.