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Loss of phasic dopamine: a new addiction marker?

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A study finds that the loss of phasic dopamine signal in ventral, but not dorsal, striatum predicts escalation of cocaine self-administration. We discuss the study's implications for addiction theory and treatment.

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Figure 1: Comparison of in vivo observations of phasic dopamine changes by Willuhn et al.7 with the predictions of three prominent addiction theories for phasic dopamine neurotransmission during escalation of cocaine self-administration.

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Correspondence to Yavin Shaham.

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Caprioli, D., Calu, D. & Shaham, Y. Loss of phasic dopamine: a new addiction marker?. Nat Neurosci 17, 644–646 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.3699

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