bacterial consumption

Further experiments indicated that bacterial consumption had led to a drop in systemic levels of
this amino acid, hinting that this shortening might be the cause of the intensified response to
cocaine in infected mice, a hypothesis that the team decided to explore.

The researchers were able to reduce cocaine-induced locomotion by feeding mice with a mutant
E. coli that don’t use glycine, or by supplementing the wildtype E. coli–infected animals with
either glycine or a related molecule, sarcosine, which is used as a dietary supplement. The
team also measured drug-seeking behavior in a setup where mice could move freely between
two chambers, one of which the mice had learned to associate with cocaine ingestion. In these
experiments, Proteobacteria-infected mice showed a stronger preference for the cocaine-
associated chamber than those with either a normal murine microbiota or Proteobacteria that
cannot use glycine.

In a recent study of their own, García-Cabrerizo and his colleagues found further evidence for
the role of gut microbes in reward responses to cocaine, although unlike Sperandio, they did
observe hints that inflammatory processes could be involved in this behavior.