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For many years, determining the role of dopamine has been the major focus of the drug abuse research. New evidence, however, suggests that glutamate may play more important roles in the process of development of addictive behaviors. Metabotropic glutamate receptors are abundant in the brain and known to consist of three different groups of subtypes. Experimental data apparently show that they, especially group I and II, have important roles in the process of behaviors indicative of addiction such as locomotor activity, behavioral sensitization, conditioned place preference by psychomotor stimulants, and self-administration of these drugs. Although it has not been yet discovered how they differentially regulate neuronal processes to produce addictive behaviors, they have been suggested as a new possible therapeutic target for the treatment of drug addiction. (Korean J Psychopharmacol 2006;17(2):143-148)
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