Credit: Clemson University
New research from the Clemson University Center for Human Genetics has identified specific cell clusters in the brain of the common fruit fly affected by acute cocaine exposure, potentially laying the groundwork for the development of drugs to treat or prevent addiction in humans.
While cocaine s neurological effects are well known, the underlying genetic sensitivity to the drug s effects is not. In human populations, susceptibility to the effects of cocaine varies due to both environmental and genetic factors, making it challenging to study. Approximately 70 percent of genes in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, have human counterparts, providing researchers with a comparable model when studying complex genetic traits.