[Neurobiological mechanisms and interventions in drug craving after withdrawal]

Drug dependence has been a severe social and health problem, which has caused serious economic losses and social disorder in China. The critical problem in drug dependence is repeated relapse even after detoxification. We have been contributed to the research of neurobiological mechanisms, clinical characteristics, and interventions of craving after withdrawal from addicting drugs. We have systematically studied the change of drug seeking behavior and craving after withdrawal from cocaine, and further investigated the neural anatomic pathway, long-term neuroplasticity, and neural signal pathways which involved in the change of drug seeking behavior. According to the situation of drug abuse in China, we investigated the characteristics in the expression of incubation of craving after withdrawal from opiate. We have primarily found the neural anatomic pathways and neural plasticity mechanisms which contribute to the process. We have also demonstrated the psychological characteristics and neurobiological mechanisms of craving induced by opiate and its long-term maintenance resulting from learning and memory, chronobiology and imaging. Our findings have provided evidence for effective inventions on preventing relapse after abstinence in addicts.