Valium-like drugs use the same potentially addictive "reward pathways" in the brain as heroin and marijuana. This new finding may help in the search for non-addictive alternative anxiety drugs. Swiss and American researchers found that benzodiazepine drugs like Ativan, Xanax and Valium, give a calming effect by boosting action of a neurotransmitter called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the same way as addictive drugs like opioids and cannabinoids.
This in turn switches on dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is the gratification hormone and this shows that the same brain "reward pathways" are used by both types of drugs. Valium, also known as diazepam, is the most well-known of the benzodiapines, which have dominated the anixiety medication market since the 1960s.
The study found that benzodiazepines seemed to work by binding to a particular part of the GABA, which the researchers named as the alpha1 sub-unit of the GABA type A receptor.
The new findings show that developing similar benzodiazepines that bind to a different part may give the same drug benefits without the addictive side effects.
A study published a few weeks ago said that people with higher levels of dopamine in their brain appear to more prone to addictive behavior patterns.
