Genes that make cues trigger stronger cocaine craving
Official title: Genetic substrates of cue-reactivity and cocaine motivation
Funded at State University of New York at Buffalo · NIH-11379941 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at genes that make cues trigger stronger cocaine craving, using rat models to find targets that could help people at risk of cocaine addiction.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | State University of New York at Buffalo NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Amherst, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2025 |
| Project end | April 30, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $787,121 |
| NIH project number | 5U01DA060669-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11379941 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with current or past cocaine use disorder—especially those who experience strong cue-triggered cravings or frequent relapse—are the group most likely to benefit from findings.
✕Less likely to help
People whose substance problems are unrelated to cocaine or who do not experience cue-triggered craving may be less likely to benefit from this specific line of research.
What this research studies
From my perspective, researchers use a rat model where animals get intermittent access to cocaine to mimic early stages of addiction and to separate total drug use from cue-driven motivation. They run genome-wide searches in genetically diverse rats and combine those results with multi-omics biological data to find candidate genes. Promising genes are then tested with gene-editing tools like CRISPR and follow-up behavioral experiments to see if changing those genes alters craving-like behavior. The overall aim is to identify biological targets that could later guide new treatments or prevention approaches for people.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reveal biological targets for new medications or prevention strategies to reduce cue-driven craving and relapse in people with cocaine use disorder.
How similar studies have gone: Previous GWAS and animal model work has identified some candidate genes and shown gene-editing can change drug-seeking in animals, but integrating GWAS, multi-omics, and the intermittent-access cocaine model is a relatively new and more comprehensive approach.
Where this research is happening
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State University of New York at Buffalo
Amherst, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Meyer, Paul J — State University of New York at Buffalo
- Study coordinator: Meyer, Paul J
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.