Cocaine Addiction Linked to Epigenetics

Experiments in rodents suggest that epigenetic control of gene expression in the brains of people with substance abuse disorders may influence how environmental cues become strong triggers that increase the likelihood of relapse after they quit. The research, led by Christopher W. Cowan, Ph.D., at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), and colleagues in the U.S., Japan, and the Republic of Panamá, found that the epigenetic enzyme histone deacetylase 5 (HDAC5) controls genes in t