Common Gene Links Learning And Addiction

A gene that affects learning may also play a role in developing a drug addiction. That's the conclusion of a new study appearing in the Feb. 19 issue of Neuron. In tests on mice, researchers from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Duke University Medical Center found six genes that change in response to repeated drug exposure, including one, called post-synaptic density-95 (PSD-95), that other researchers have shown is involved in learning.