# Novel Addiction Neurocircuits in Cocaine Taking

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MED BR GALVESTON · 2022 · $488,840

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Cocaine use disorder (CUD) is a debilitating problem in the United States with no FDA approved medications to
maximize success of treatment. This problem has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and over the
past year, cocaine use has increased 10% and a 26.5% increase has been observed in overdose deaths
involving cocaine. We endeavor to drive a fresh strategy to develop new pharmacotherapies for CUD. Using a
bottom-up strategy, we initiated a focus on the ventral pallidum (VP) which encodes reward and motivation to
represent a “final common pathway” for cocaine-taking. A gap in our understanding of the upstream neural
circuits regulating the VP hampers our efficacy in predicting strategies to suppress relapse and extend
abstinence from CUD. Our exciting new data suggest that a γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) pathway arising in the
dorsal raphe nucleus and targeting the nucleus accumbens converges into the VP to influence reward and
motivation processes. This novel pathway is regulated by the G-protein coupled receptor neuromedin U Receptor
2 (NMUR2), a putative “druggable target” for CUD pharmacotherapy. Our goal is to establish this neurocircuitry
as a central element in the upstream control of cocaine-driven behavior through the VP of the accumbal pathway.
To accomplish this goal, we will employ contemporary strategies including behavioral economics, GABA-specific
DREADDs and transsynaptic neuroanatomical tracing to detail connectivity through three integrated brain
regions. Overall, these studies will impact the field by laying the foundation for developing therapeutics to treat
individuals with CUD.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10375964
- **Project number:** 1R01DA053472-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MED BR GALVESTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Kathryn A. Cunningham
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $488,840
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-04-01 → 2027-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10375964

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10375964, Novel Addiction Neurocircuits in Cocaine Taking (1R01DA053472-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10375964. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*