Neuronal adaptations in the lateral habenula during drug withdrawal: Preclinical evidence for addiction therapy

Abstract

The epithalamic lateral habenula (LHb) regulates monoaminergic systems and contributes to the expression of both appetitive and aversive behaviours. Over the past years, the LHb has emerged as a vulnerable brain structure in mental illnesses including addiction. Behavioural and functional evidence in humans and rodents provide substantial support for a role of LHb in the negative affective symptoms emerging during withdrawal from addictive substances. Multiple forms of cellular and synaptic adaptations that take hold during drug withdrawal within the LHb are causally linked with the emergence of negative affective symptoms. These results indicate that targeting drug withdrawal-driven adaptations in the LHb may represent a potential strategy to normalize drug-related behavioural adaptations. In the current review we describe the mechanisms leading to functional alterations in the LHb, as well as the existing interventions used to counteract addictive behaviours. Finally, closing this loop we discuss and propose new avenues to potentially target the LHb in humans in light of the mechanistic understanding stemming from pre-clinical studies. Altogether, we provide an overview on how to leverage cellular-level understanding to envision clinically-relevant approaches for the treatment of specific aspects in drug addiction.

Keywords: Drug withdrawal; Lateral habenula; Plasticity; Treatments.