Abstract

As of 2008, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, nearly 1.4 million Americans met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria for dependence or abuse of cocaine (in any form) in the past 12 months. However, there are no treatments for cocaine use disorders approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA). Alterations in gene regulation contribute significantly to the changes that occur in the brain, both structurally and functionally, and the resultant addictive phenotype that occurs with chronic exposure to drugs of abuse. The Emerging Targets of Cocaine Use Disorders meeting sought to explore novel targets for the treatment of stimulant use disorder. The evidence for a role of one novel target, Poly(ADP)-ribose polymerase-1 (PARP-1), was presented at the meeting and will be summarized in this review.

Keywords: Addiction, chromatin, CPP: conditioned place preference, epigenetics, NAc: nucleus accumbens, PAR: polymers of (ADP)-ribose, PARG: Poly(ADP)-ribose glycohydrolase, PARP-1: poly(ADP)-ribose polymerases.