For more than 50 years, the conventional wisdom in the field of research in cocaine use has been that people take cocaine based on the theory of the drug providing positive reinforcement to the user.
New research out of the University of Cincinnati shows that a pharmacological equation disproves that concept and could spark a major shift in that field of research. Local 12 produced a story about the study, interviewing lead researcher Andrew Norman, PhD, of the Department of Pharmacology and Systems Physiology at the UC College of Medicine.
Norman's research about how people get hooked on cocaine is different than how most researchers see it. He said it's that the drug reinforces pleasure centers in the brain. "It may be pleasurable, it may induce positive effects, but that isn't the reason why animals or people will take it," said Norman.
