How sleep problems after stopping cocaine affect dopamine and craving
Official title: Sleep Disturbances During Cocaine Abstinence, Dopamine Adaptations, and Motivation for Cocaine
Funded at Drexel University · NIH-11292878 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This research looks at whether sleep problems that happen after stopping cocaine change brain dopamine signals and increase craving in people with cocaine addiction.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Drexel University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Philadelphia, United States) |
| Project start | May 1, 2023 |
| Project end | February 29, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $444,922 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DA056193-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11292878 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with cocaine use disorder who are in early abstinence and experience sleep disturbances would be most relevant to this research.
✕Less likely to help
People without cocaine use disorder or those whose relapse risk is driven by factors unrelated to sleep or dopamine are unlikely to benefit directly.
What this research studies
Researchers will use rat models of cocaine abstinence to study how sleep disruptions after stopping cocaine change dopamine transporter function in a brain reward area called the nucleus accumbens. They will record sleep patterns and dopamine levels and measure how strongly animals seek cocaine after different abstinence periods. The team will manipulate sleep or dopamine transporter activity to see whether those changes make drug-seeking worse. The goal is to link specific sleep-related brain changes to increased motivation for cocaine to guide future treatments.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to sleep-focused or dopamine-targeted ways to reduce craving and prevent relapse in people recovering from cocaine use.
How similar studies have gone: Previous animal studies have linked sleep and dopamine to increased drug-seeking, but translating these findings into human treatments has not yet been well established.
Where this research is happening
-
Drexel University
Philadelphia, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: España, Rodrigo a. — Drexel University
- Study coordinator: España, Rodrigo a.
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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.