Blebbistatin: a chemical compound whose purpose — despite the impression its name gives — is extremely important. Scientists say it could help many people recovering from serious drug addictions.

The compound is a memory-erasing one, and the hope is that it will keep recovering addicts from falling back into the drugs they took — right now, mainly meth — by erasing the memories connected to the highs that meth offered. Often, relapses happen because the recovering party remembers the good parts of the drug-- how they felt when they were high-- and then goes back to the drug without thinking too deeply about the consequences. This can happen years later, even with all traces of the drug gone from the system. A ‘mental addiction’ stays for much longer, and poses a greater threat to those who have been drug free for more time than physical addiction, since almost anything could trigger a memory that makes the person want to go back to using the drug.

In 2013, a team of scientists led by Courtney Miller found that they could use certain compounds to target certain memories in the brain, going after the actin proteins, and especially erase them. They followed up on this and began experimenting, having gotten enough positive data to continue on with their efforts.

Scientists tested out the compound on mice who had been given and grown addicted to methamphetamine, and it was found that going without the drug was much easer after Blebbistatin was administered. In fact, the mice who were given only one injection of this compound prevented a relapse in the mouse for at least a month.

Blebbistatin targets the unstabilized cells in the hippocampus. Looking into it more closely, it goes after these memory cells that are still ‘dynamic’: memories whose brain cell ‘homes’ do not have stabilized actin proteins, through non-muscle myosin II. The sort-of-bright-side about meth is that memories from meth use are often unable to become stable, since they are so strong, and so they remain dynamic. And, since Blebbistatin “selectively” goes after these unstable meth memories and essentially erases them, the ability to go through life without any triggering memories causing a relapse is greatly reduced.

Basically, Blebbistatin can erase the memories of the drug and reduce the risk of a relapse.

The scientists found that other memories the mice had were unaffected, and that the mice were able to form memories as easily as before. They are still unsure about whether or not other addictions will be helped by Blebbistatin, though they should be optimistic, so long as the other addictions create memories similar in structure to those of meth.

Blebbistatin has yet to be tested on humans, but the scientists who ran the tests are hopeful that it will help those suffering from drug addiction.

(The really good news is that, if it is approved for human study, the compound, despite targeting cells in the brain, does not have to be injected into the brain.)