News Neuroscience

A brain chemical tied to narcolepsy may play a role in opioid addiction

Heroin and other opioids increase the amount of hypocretin-producing nerve cells

syringe

SIDE EFFECTS  Long-term use of opioids, such as heroin, increases the number of brain cells that release a molecule called hypocretin that’s known to regulate wakefulness.

Thomasaf/iStockphoto

By Laurel Hamers

- More than 2 years ago

Using opioids gives some brain cells a call to action.

Opioid addicts’ brains, examined after death, contain about 50 percent more nerve cells that release a molecule called hypocretin, compared with people who didn’t use the drugs, a new study finds.