Haplo-Insufficiency or Knockout of the Serotonin Transporter Does not Affect Heroin Self-Administration but Decreases BDNF in the Frontal Cortex
Abstract
(1) Background: Drug addiction places a heavy burden on those affected by it but only a small percentage of individuals (~20%), regardless of their drug of abuse, go on to develop the compulsive behaviours that define drug addiction. Clinical studies have shown that genetic variations that reduce serotonin transporter (SERT) activity increase the vulnerability to developing a variety of psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety and drug addiction.
(2) Methods: To investigate the influenc [...]