Neuropeptide promotes behaviors tied to addiction and overeating

Abstract

Three teams of NIDA-funded investigators have implicated the neuropeptide orexin (also called hypocretin) in responses that can foster the transition from casual cocaine use to regular abuse and relapse. Two of the teams also tied orexin to eating high-caloric foods that can promote obesity. The findings bode well for a strategy of treating drug abuse and overeating with medications that inhibit orexin signaling.