Expert Team Investigates Innovative Approaches to Diagnosing, Treating and Preventing Addiction Disorders using the Habenula Brain Nucleus

Dara Ghahremani and Edythe London, two faculty members in the UCLA Health Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, have been selected to join a team of experts from international universities to investigate innovative approaches for diagnosing, treating, and preventing addiction disorders.

As part of the Untangling Addiction program initiated by nonprofit health research organization Wellcome Leap this year, Ghahremani and London will serve as co-principal investigators. This three-year, $50 million project involves 13 other collaborating universities and organizations with the goal of developing biomarkers that can accurately quantify addiction risk and progression.

The UCLA team will lead the first large-scale investigation of the habenula, a brain nucleus associated with negative states experienced during withdrawal. Although this region has shown strong connections to addiction in animal studies, it has not been adequately studied in humans. By analyzing MRI data from thousands of individuals with problematic alcohol use, the team aims to determine if similar relationships exist in humans.

Ghahremani stated that if they find those links, the habenula could be an important therapeutic neural target. For example, they propose using a relatively new noninvasive brain stimulation technique known as low-intensity focused ultrasound to temporarily modify habenula function during periods of alcohol withdrawal. This could alleviate symptoms and reduce vulnerability to continued drug use.