Teen Brains More Sensitive to Oxycodone than Adult Brains
Studies on adolescent and adult lab mice could provide insights into how exposure to an addictive substance in adolescence may affect sensitivity and addiction to the drug. A study which appeared in a 2008 edition of Neuropsychopharmacology suggested that adolescent lab mice (and human adolescents by extension) had a greater likelihood of becoming addicted to OxyContin (generic name - Oxycodone) than adult lab mice.
The study is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, it is important because addictions often form in the adolescent years, a period when the central nervous system is not yet fully developed. Just how an addictive substance, such as Oxycodone, affects the brain during that period might change the brain's response to the drug into adulthood. In fact, this study attempted to demonstrate that very hypothesis.
About the Study
In the study, adolescent and adult laboratory mice were permitted to self-medicate with differing amounts of Oxycodone. The adolescent mice chose to take smaller amounts than the adult mice, which could suggest that the adolescent brain was more sensitive to the effects of the drug. When these adolescents became adults and were again exposed to the Oxycodone, they demonstrated a similar sensitivity to the substance. Researchers explain that this behavior suggests that exposure to the substance in the brain's formative years could have produced permanent changes in the brain.
How OxyContin Affects the Brain
Opioids such as OxyContin increase dopamine levels in the brain. Dopamine is the chemical that produces the "high" for the user. With the mice in the study, those who had taken Oxycodone as adolescents received the lowest dose of the drug as an adult and experienced increased dopamine levels while the low dosage did not elevate dopamine levels in the mice who received Oxycodone only in adulthood.
The study results seem to indicate that Oxycodone, taken in adolescence, affects the brain in ways that leave the central nervous system more sensitive to the drug even into adulthood. Some say that the study supports not only an elevated sensitivity in adolescents to Oxycodone but perhaps to any addictive substance.
The Rise of Teen Prescription Drug Abuse
The second reason the study is important is because prescription drug abuse is on the rise, especially among teens. One health report has cited 20% of high school students admitting to using prescription drugs for non-health reasons. A 2008 federal report stated that cocaine and methamphetamine abuse was decreasing among youth at the same time that prescription drug abuse (particularly prescription painkillers) had risen by 12%. These medications are easy to obtain and young people often mistakenly believe that they are less harmful than other drugs.
Prescription pain medications like Oxycodone pose a small threat of addiction to most adults who are taking them to manage chronic pain. However, this study suggests that taking the drugs during adolescence poses a serious threat that could last a lifetime.