Stress Hormone Reduces Heroin Cravings

Every addiction is characterized by a strong desire for a certain addictive substance, be it nicotine, alcohol or other drug. Researchers at the University of Basel recently conducted a study on heroin addiction and demonstrated that the stress hormone cortisol can reduce addictive cravings. The findings from the research have been published in the medical journal Translational Psychiatry. Heroin is a drug with an extremely high dependency potential that stimulates severe cravings in addicts. A team of researchers led by PD Dr. Marc Walter and Prof. Dominique de Quervain from the University of Basel recently studied the effect of the stress hormone cortisol on the addictive cravings in heroin addicts. In past studies, the researchers in Basel discovered that cortisol diminishes the ability to retrieve memories; intake of the hormone reduced the brain's ability to remember. This can be used, for example, to relieve symptoms in patients suffering from anxiety disorders by inhibiting the patients' ability to recall anxious episodes.