OxyContin Abuse by Teens Linked to Adult Drug Addiction
Abusing the painkiller OxyContin during the teenage years may cause changes in the brain that can lead to drug addiction in adulthood, according to a new study from Rockefeller University.
Mary Jeanne Kreek, Yong Zhang and their associates found that laboratory animals preferred lower doses of OxyContin in adolescence compared to adults. However, the ones that had been exposed to the opiate as “teenagers” developed higher levels of certain brain chemicals compared to adults who got the drug for the first time. That group was more likely to display drug-seeking behaviors as adults.
“These results suggest that adolescents who abuse prescription pain killers may be tuning their brains into lifelong battles with opiate addictions if they re exposed themselves to the drug as adults,” said Dr. Kreek. “The neurobiological changes seem to sensitize the brain to the drug’s powerfully rewarding properties.”
This study appears in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.