Circadian Rhythms and Substance Abuse: Chronobiological Considerations for the Treatment of Addiction.
Reward-related learning, including that associated with drugs of abuse, is largely mediated by the dopaminergic mesolimbic pathway. Mesolimbic neurophysiology and motivated behavior, in turn, are modulated by the circadian timing system which generates ∼24-h rhythms in cellular activity. Both drug taking and seeking and mesolimbic dopaminergic neurotransmission can vary widely over the day. Moreover, circadian clock genes are expressed in ventral tegmental area dopaminergic cells and in mesolimbic target regions where they can directly modulate reward-related neurophysiology and behavior. There also exists a reciprocal influence between drug taking and circadian timing as the administration of drugs of abuse can alter behavioral rhythms and circadian clock gene expression in mesocorticolimbic structures. These interactions suggest that manipulations of the circadian timing system may have some utility in the treatment of substance abuse disorders. Here, the literature on bidirectional interactions between the circadian timing system and drug taking is briefly reviewed, and potential chronotherapeutic considerations for the treatment of addiction are discussed.
['Webb|Ian C|IC|']
D000818:Animals D016739:Behavior, Addictive D056926:CLOCK Proteins D019454:Chronotherapy D002940:Circadian Rhythm D004298:Dopamine D005786:Gene Expression Regulation D006801:Humans D008032:Limbic System D008636:Mesencephalon D009042:Motivation D009415:Nerve Net D017397:Prefrontal Cortex D012008:Recurrence D012201:Reward D012307:Risk Factors D019966:Substance-Related Disorders
Circadian Addiction Chronotherapy Diurnal Reward