How Cocaine Rewires Your Brain to Drive Relapse, RELIEVES BOREDOM – Mar. 4, 2026 - People who stop using don’t experience the same physical withdrawal symptoms that opiates cause, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to quit. The drug hijacks the brain, flooding the rew..., Read More...

Summary: Quitting cocaine is incredibly hard, even without the physical sickness that comes from quitting other drugs like opiates. Why? Because cocaine actually hijacks your brain! It floods your brain's reward centers with dopamine, tricking it into thinking you are doing something healthy instead of harmful. Sadly, a lot of people relapse—about 24% go back to weekly use. Scientists recently used advanced CRISPR technology on mice to find out why this happens. They discovered a sneaky protein called DeltaFosB that rewires the brain and drives the overwhelming urge to use the drug again.

Source: rssapp-addictionrecoveryebulletin-org URL: addictionrecoveryebulletin.org/how-cocaine-rewires-your-brain-to-drive-relapse/ (opens in new tab)