WHERE IS THE LOCUS IN OPIOID WITHDRAWAL

Identification of neuroadaptations in specific brain regions that gene rate withdrawal is crucial for understanding and perhaps treating opio id dependence. It has been widely proposed that the locus coeruleus (L C) is the nucleus that plays the primary causal role in the expression of the opioid withdrawal syndrome. MacDonald Christie, John Williams, Peregrine Osborne and Glare Bellchambers believe that this view and t he interpretation of the literature on which it is based are at best c ontroversial. Here, they suggest an alternative view in which regions close to the LC such as the periaqueductal grey, as well as other brai n structures which are independent of the LC noradrenergic system, pla y a more important role in the expression of the opioid withdrawal syn drome.