Total Recall--the Memory of Addiction

How does cocaine induce the long-lasting changes in neural circuitry that result in addictive behavior? As Nestler explains in his Perspective, the formation of memories through long-term potentiation (LTP) in the hippocampus may provide some clues. Discussing a paper from Malenka and colleagues published elsewhere, Nestler compares the increase in glutamatergic transmission accompanying LTP in the hippocampus with that induced in VTA dopamine neurons by cocaine.