The study, published in Biological Psychiatry, focused on cocaine-seeking behaviors in animal models, measuring excitability levels in the motor cortex after 45 days of withdrawal. The researchers found that hyperexcitability in the motor cortex was increased at this point and used an intervention to calm the excitability taking place in that part of the brain.
This finding is particularly significant because past studies in the field of addiction research have primarily focused on the medial prefrontal cortex, which controls decision-making. However, no effective prevention or treatment for drug relapse is available through targeting this region. The supplementary motor cortex’s role in addiction is novel and exciting, as it has never received much attention in addiction research. The researchers believe that understanding whether addiction behavior is subconscious or conscious behavior can help find better ways to treat and prevent addiction and relapse.