A new role for astrocytes in the story of cocaine abuse.

In this issue of Neuron, Yang et al.1 highlight a hitherto unknown action of cocaine in VTA circuitry. They found that chronic cocaine use increased tonic inhibition selectively onto GABA neurons through Swell1 channel-dependent GABA release from astrocytes, leading to disinhibition-mediated hyperactivity in DA neurons and addictive behavior.