ReviewBiochemical pharmacology2008
Glutamatergic substrates of drug addiction and alcoholism.
Review in Biochemical pharmacology, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03220776 (Imaging Framework for Testing GABAergic/Glutamatergic Drugs in Bipolar Alcoholics), which is not on this map. Cited by 267 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Imaging Framework for Testing GABAergic/Glutamatergic Drugs in Bipolar Alcoholics
Who cites it
267 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 487 citations in OpenAlex.
- A Systematic Review of the Role of Gummosin in Improving Memory in the Scopolamine Impaired Memory Model.Archives of Razi Institute · 2024Pooled it
- Common abnormality of gray matter integrity in substance use disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder: A comparative voxel-based meta-analysis.Human brain mapping · 2021Pooled it
- Association studies of up to 1.2 million individuals yield new insights into the genetic etiology of tobacco and alcohol use.Nature genetics · 2019Pooled it
- Glutamate- and GABA-targeted drugs for Cc-occurring bipolar and alcohol use disorders: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study of N-acetylcysteine, gabapentin, and placebo.Translational psychiatry · 2026Trial
- The Effect of N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) on Neurometabolites and Cognitive Function in Adults With Alcohol Use Disorder: A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Trial.Neuropsychopharmacology reports · 2025Trial
- Efficacy of Gabapentin for the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder in Patients With Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA internal medicine · 2020Trial
- Influence of combined treatment with naltrexone and memantine on alcohol drinking behaviors: a phase II randomized crossover trial.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2020Trial
- Impacts of GRIN3A, GRM6 and TPH2 genetic polymorphisms on quality of life in methadone maintenance therapy population.PloS one · 2018Trial
- N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonism has differential effects on alcohol craving and drinking in heavy drinkers.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2015Trial
- Achieving cannabis cessation -- evaluating N-acetylcysteine treatment (ACCENT): design and implementation of a multi-site, randomized controlled study in the National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network.Contemporary clinical trials · 2014Trial
- Acute effects of modafinil on brain resting state networks in young healthy subjects.PloS one · 2013Trial
- A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, trial of lamotrigine therapy in bipolar disorder, depressed or mixed phase and cocaine dependence.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2012Trial
- A placebo controlled trial of memantine as an adjunct to oral naltrexone for opioid dependence.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2011Trial
- Ethanol drinking involves astrocytes in male Wistar rats.Behavioural brain research · 2026Article
- Ethanol Self-Administration Reduces mGlu2/3 Protein Expression in the Nucleus Accumbens and mGlu2/3 Activation Suppresses Binge Drinking in Male Mice.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2026Article
- An emerging role for synaptic ZnPharmacology & therapeutics · 2026Review
- Ethanol drinking involves astrocytes in male Wistar rats.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Astrocytes in the Ventral Tegmental Area Are Involved in Cotinine Self-Administration in Male Wistar Rats.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- Glutamate transmission in the prelimbic cortex and nucleus accumbens shell is involved in ethanol reinforcement and drinking in rats.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2026Article
- Efficacy of Ketamine Infusion for Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder in Patients with Chronic Pain: a Narrative Review.Current pain and headache reports · 2025Review
207 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The past two decades have witnessed a dramatic accumulation of evidence indicating that the excitatory amino acid glutamate plays an important role in drug addiction and alcoholism. The purpose of this review is to summarize findings on glutamatergic substrates of addiction, surveying data from both human and animal studies. The effects of various drugs of abuse on glutamatergic neurotransmission are discussed, as are the effects of pharmacological or genetic manipulation of various components of glutamate transmission on drug reinforcement, conditioned reward, extinction, and relapse-like behavior. In addition, glutamatergic agents that are currently in use or are undergoing testing in clinical trials for the treatment of addiction are discussed, including acamprosate, N-acetylcysteine, modafinil, topiramate, lamotrigine, gabapentin and memantine. All drugs of abuse appear to modulate glutamatergic transmission, albeit by different mechanisms, and this modulation of glutamate transmission is believed to result in long-lasting neuroplastic changes in the brain that may contribute to the perseveration of drug-seeking behavior and drug-associated memories. In general, attenuation of glutamatergic transmission reduces drug reward, reinforcement, and relapse-like behavior. On the other hand, potentiation of glutamatergic transmission appears to facilitate the extinction of drug-seeking behavior. However, attempts at identifying genetic polymorphisms in components of glutamate transmission in humans have yielded only a limited number of candidate genes that may serve as risk factors for the development of addiction. Nonetheless, manipulation of glutamatergic neurotransmission appears to be a promising avenue of research in developing improved therapeutic agents for the treatment of drug addiction and alcoholism.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.