We’ve all seen the devastating headlines about the drug overdose crisis. But behind the statistics lies a profound biological mystery: why does the brain stay "rewired" for addiction even long after someone stops using? Our latest study, a collaboration between our team and the lab of Francesca Telese at UC San Diego, is helping us peer under the hood of the brain's "control panel" to understand how substances like cocaine and oxycodone change the way our genes are managed. T

Leptin: A Protective Factor Against Cocaine Addiction Cocaine doesn't just affect the brain's reward system—it also dramatically alters appetite, metabolism, and body weight. We investigated whether leptin, a hormone that regulates both feeding and reward, might play a role in vulnerability to cocaine addiction. Using samples from the Cocaine Biobank and genetically diverse rats, we discovered that leptin may be a protective factor against developing addiction-like behaviors.

Alcohol addiction hijacks the brain's stress systems, making withdrawal feel unbearable and driving continued drinking. We investigated whether a brain chemical called hypocretin/orexin—which plays key roles in both stress and reward—might be a promising target for treating alcohol dependence. This work was conducted in collaboration with the Schmeichel Lab. The Research Question We wanted to understand whether blocking different types of hypocretin receptors (called HCRT-R1