Working with rats addicted to amphetamines, scientists believe they have discovered a region of the brain that must be functioning to experience drug cravings. The researchers hope their findings might lead to new drugs that can "switch off" that part of the brain to lessen or eliminate craving in human addicts, which could add a useful tool to the drug detox drug rehab tool chest.

The "insular cortex" or "insula" (insula means island in Latin) is located deep in the brain where it perceives and sends messages based on the body's needs and emotions. Theoretically, shutting down this area of the brain would make it unable to perceive the craving experienced by addicts. If this could be accomplished relatively easily and in complete safety, with no bad side-effects, it could be helpful for someone entering drug rehab.

To test the theory, researchers at a university in Chile created amphetamine addicts out of some lab rats - not something everyone would be comfortable with, but hey, it's all in the name of science. Then they gave the addicted rats the choice of entering a brightly lit chamber with amphetamines in it, and a dark chamber with only salty water on tap. The addicted rats went straight into the bright chamber - even though rats prefer dark places - presumably because that's where the drug was. The scientists then injected a chemical into the brains of the rats that temporarily stopped all activity in the insula region of their brains. Now the rats showed a preference for the dark, no-drug chamber, their craving for amphetamines apparently gone.

In a second experiment, the team injected some rats with a drug that makes them sick and their motions sluggish. Rats receiving the insula-blocking injection behaved normally, unaffected by the drug that was supposed to make them ill.

These two experiments showed that disabling the insula brain region can stop the craving for an addicted drug, and also stop physical symptoms such as nausea. This strongly suggests that human addicts in drug detox and drug rehab situations could overcome their craving for drugs, and escape unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.

Earlier research has shown that the insula in humans is activated by feelings of disgust triggered by unpleasant odors, or by observing disgusted facial expressions on other people. Also, subjects given electrical stimulation of the insula via electrodes in their brain experience nausea. And another study showed that patients with damage to the insula lost the urge to smoke and could easily quit.

We don't expect drug addicts arriving for drug rehab will have a chemical injected straight into their brains like lab rats. But a drug that could be swallowed or injected into a vein or under the skin that safely targets the insula region might be developed in the future.

However, even if this experiment does prove successful in rats and, subsequently, in humans, it clearly doesn't address the myriad of reasons why a person turns to drugs. What happens when the injection wears off? Will the person need a daily injection - which sounds suspiciously like substituting one drug for another - to keep the cravings at bay?

Drug detox and drug rehab can get people off drugs, but just like it took a while to develop an addiction, it can also take some work to get and stay off drugs. Anyone who's waiting for scientists to come up with a magic solution is making a big mistake.

There are plenty of excellent drug detox and drug rehab programs available right now for people suffering from drug addiction. Contact a drug rehab program counselor and find out which one is right for you.