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

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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

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