ArticleNature2010
Neural bases for addictive properties of benzodiazepines.
Article in Nature, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 185 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
185 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 392 citations in OpenAlex.
- Z-drug abuse and dependence: clinical guideline of the Brazilian Academy of Neurology for diagnosis and management.Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria · 2025Guideline
- Abuse Potential of Pregabalin: A Systematic Review.CNS drugs · 2016Pooled it
- Sodium oxybate in the treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndrome: a randomized double-blind comparative study versus oxazepam. The GATE 1 trial.CNS drugs · 2014Trial
- Assessment of the abuse liability of a dual orexin receptor antagonist: a crossover study of almorexant and zolpidem in recreational drug users.CNS drugs · 2014Trial
- Herbal triplet in treatment of nervous agitation in children.Wiener medizinische Wochenschrift (1946) · 2013Trial
- From molecular mechanisms to digital surveillance: the 2010-2025 evolution of benzodiazepine and Z-drug misuse research.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026Review
- A prelimbic cortex-lateral hypothalamus circuit regulates acquisition of alprazolam-induced conditioned place preference in male mice.Acta pharmacologica Sinica · 2026Article
- Distinct Modulation of High- and Low-Frequency Activity by Midazolam and Neurosteroids in Neocortical Slices.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Synaptic correlates of benzodiazepine tolerance.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Review
- A Comparison of Positive and Negative Allosteric Modulators of α5-Containing GABABiological psychiatry · 2026Review
- Acute stress induces circuit-specific alterations in mesolimbic and nigrostriatal inhibitory transmission and potentiates operant learning.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Benzodiazepines at the crossroads: navigating therapeutic promise and perils of misuse.Annals of general psychiatry · 2026Review
- Benzodiazepine Dependence: Clinical and Molecular Aspects, Preventive Strategies and Therapeutic Approaches.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Exogenous Melatonin as a Sleep-promoting Agent beyond its Chronobiotic Properties: A Scoping Review of its Effects on Key Sleep-wake Neurotransmitters.Current neuropharmacology · 2026Article
- Learning Mechanisms in Alcohol Use Disorders.Addiction biology · 2026Review
- General practitioner-pharmacist collaboration to enhance deprescribing of psychotropics, sedatives, and anticholinergics among older polypharmacy patients in primary care: study protocol of a cluster-randomized controlled trial (PARTNER).Therapeutic advances in drug safety · 2026Article
- Solvent-induced photophysical properties and stability of clonazepam and Chlordiazepoxide.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Dynamic changes in chloride homeostasis coordinate midbrain inhibitory network activity during reward learning.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Kappa Opioid Receptors Control a Stress-Sensitive Brain Circuit and Drive Cocaine Seeking.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2025Article
- Benzodiazepine use in physicians: retrospective 5-year nationwide study in Taiwan.BJPsych open · 2025Article
125 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Benzodiazepines are widely used in clinics and for recreational purposes, but will lead to addiction in vulnerable individuals. Addictive drugs increase the levels of dopamine and also trigger long-lasting synaptic adaptations in the mesolimbic reward system that ultimately may induce the pathological behaviour. The neural basis for the addictive nature of benzodiazepines, however, remains elusive. Here we show that benzodiazepines increase firing of dopamine neurons of the ventral tegmental area through the positive modulation of GABA(A) (gamma-aminobutyric acid type A) receptors in nearby interneurons. Such disinhibition, which relies on alpha1-containing GABA(A) receptors expressed in these cells, triggers drug-evoked synaptic plasticity in excitatory afferents onto dopamine neurons and underlies drug reinforcement. Taken together, our data provide evidence that benzodiazepines share defining pharmacological features of addictive drugs through cell-type-specific expression of alpha1-containing GABA(A) receptors in the ventral tegmental area. The data also indicate that subunit-selective benzodiazepines sparing alpha1 may be devoid of addiction liability.
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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.