Scientists have recently sounded warnings that a popular form of anxiety medicines uses the same potentially addictive "reward pathways" in the brain as drugs like heroine and cannabis do, making them just as addictive.

Researchers from Switzerland and America joined hands to reach at this conclusion. They discovered that benzodiazepine drugs like Valium and Xanax tend to exert a calming effect, which is achieved by boosting the action of a neurotransmitter.

This result is the activation of the gratification hormone, dopamine, in the brain, which is the same "reward pathway" which is activated by many of the popular and illegal drugs.

With the findings, experts might just be able to develop a next-generation of non-addictive benzodiazepines.

"Our work unravels the molecular basis of the defining pharmacological features that benzodiazepines share with addictive drugs, which we believe will be key for designing new BDZs with lower addiction liability", said lead researcher Dr. Christian Luscher.

Details of the study have been published in the journal Nature