COCAINE may have a new use: it might help to map brain regions involved in feelings of reward.
Cocaine binds to a receptor in the brain called DAT. This prevents the reward chemical dopamine binding to DAT, so it builds up, giving users a high.
This binding also makes cocaine ideal for mapping the brain’s reward system, say Greg Naumiec and at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston. They , which is magnetic and highly visible in MRI scans. If injected, the cocainegadolinium should bind to and “light up” the DAT receptors.…
