Abstract

L-type Ca2+ channel (LTCC) blockers have been investigated as potential therapeutics to treat the signs and symptoms of substance addiction for the past three decades. The existence of LTCCs in the brain dopaminergic circuits, which are thought to be crucial in the emergence and expression of addictive behaviours, and the widespread use of LTCC blockers in the treatment of hypertension, which may allow for the off-label use of these drugs with good brain penetration as therapeutics for mental disorders, have both been cited as supporting evidence for this theory. Addiction can be seen as a maladaptive kind of learning in which strong memories of stimuli and behaviours connected to drugs drive compulsive drug use. We will primarily use this paradigm to concentrate on the dopaminergic system, which is known to play a crucial role in drug-associated learning.