Gut bacterium amplifies amphetamine’s addictive pull

A common gut bacterium can make amphetamines more addictive by producing a chemical that boosts dopamine activity in the brain. By targeting this microbial pathway, it may be possible to dampen amphetamine’s effects, helping people overcome addiction.

Amphetamines work by increasing dopamine, the brain’s key reward chemical. They are prescribed for certain neuropsychiatric disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but they are also widely abused. No approved drugs currently exist to treat amphetamine addiction, which is rising rapidly worldwide. Now, a team led by Angela Carter and Aurelio Galli at the University of Alabama Birmingham, US, has shown how opportunistic gut microbes, like Fusobacterium nucleatum, can enhance the effects of these drugs, by hijacking dopamine signalling pathways in the brain.