Because humans and fruit flies use many similar biochemical pathways, this discovery suggests that the flies may help scientists unravel the molecular basis of cocaine addiction in people. It may also lay the foundation for highly specific drugs to treat cocaine addiction. Their current findings are featured in a cover story in the January 15 issue of Current Biology .
Cocaine is one of the most powerfully addictive street drugs.
Extensive studies on rodents and monkeys have provided little information about the molecular processes that underlie cocaine's behavioral and addictive effects. Using fruit flies in such studies offers several advantages. The genetics of the flies have been intensively studied for 80 years, providing researchers with a rich information base from which to devise and interpret experiments. Not insignificantly, research on flies is cheaper, easier, and faster than similar studies on mammals. The flies, formally called Drosophila melanogaster , reacted in striking and reproducible ways in response to different levels of cocaine.