Research Highlights | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

First time drug use more common in summertime

August 1, 2019 | Government surveys showed that in 2017, an estimated three million people tried marijuana for the first time, just over a million tried cocaine, close to 800,000 tried LSD, and close...

Science Highlight

Parenting programs lead to healthier behaviors

July 25, 2019 | A study conducted among 517 youth in the rural areas of the southeastern United States demonstrates the effectiveness of a parenting enhancement program in both preventing drug use and obesity...

Nora's Blog

The Importance of Treating Opioid Use Disorder in the Justice System

| En español

July 24, 2019 | Effectively delivering OUD treatment in the justice system will give individuals with OUD a chance of recovery, and will make a huge difference in reducing the toll of the opioid...

Science Highlight

Similarities between aggressive and addictive behaviors

July 23, 2019 | Scientists from NIDA’s Intramural Research Program show that neural mechanisms that control appetitive aggressive behavior are similar to those that control drug-taking and seeking (relapse), suggesting common neurobiological mechanisms of...

Nora's Blog

The Need for Diversity and Inclusivity in Presenting Scientific Research

| En español

July 19, 2019 | Diversity and inclusion are paramount in all sectors of society, especially in the sciences. Yet it is a well-known (and frequently lamented) fact that males continue to dominate the speaker...

Nora's Blog

Access to Addiction Services Differs by Race and Gender

| En español

July 16, 2019 | Disparities in access to quality treatment play a role in every aspect of health care and health outcomes, and the opioid crisis is no different.

NIDA Notes

Drug Use and Its Consequences Increase Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults

July 10, 2019 | Studies found: The spread of marijuana use and the opioid epidemic over the past 10 years have affected middle-aged and older Americans. Prescription opioid and benzodiazepine misuse increased older adults’...

Science Highlight

Prescription opioid misuse in high school linked to later heroin use

July 9, 2019 | A NIDA-funded study suggests that misuse of prescription opioid pain relievers in high school could be linked to heroin use later in life.

Science Highlight

Medical Marijuana Laws and Opioid Overdose Rates

July 5, 2019 | A new study underscores the need for additional research on the effect of medical marijuana laws on opioid overdose deaths and cautions against drawing a causal connection between the two.

Science Highlight

Female reproductive cycle affects cocaine craving in animal study

July 2, 2019 | Researchers at NIDA’s Intramural Research Program (IRP) wanted to determine if the incubation of craving would be different in male and female rats and if the effect is stronger after...

Nora's Blog

The Importance of Prevention in Addressing the Opioid Crisis

| En español

June 27, 2019 | As our communities, healthcare systems, and government agencies join in the effort to reverse the epidemic of opioid overdoses and solve the opioid crisis, it is not enough to focus...

NIDA Notes

Nicotine and Cannabis Have Offsetting Effects on Resting Brain Connectivity

June 24, 2019 | This research: Adds to research showing that nicotine and cannabis have interactive effects on brain structure and function. Suggests that specialized treatment interventions may be appropriate for people who use...

Nora's Blog

Remembering Two Neurophysiology Pioneers

May 23, 2019 | In the first half of 2019, we have lost two researchers whose work in neuronal functioning and signaling helped revolutionize our understanding not only of the neurobiology of drug use...

NIDA Notes

Cannabis Dependence Is Associated With Changes in Neural Circuitry That May Contribute to Psychopathology

May 21, 2019 | People with cannabis dependence have changes in neural circuitry in brain regions related to reward processing, habit formation, and psychopathology. These changes in neural circuitry may provide a useful marker...

Science Highlight

Brief drug use disrupts learning mechanisms in the brain

May 9, 2019 | In a new animal study, scientists at NIDA’s Intramural Research Program have demonstrated that cocaine use profoundly disrupts these teaching signals.

NIDA Notes

Narrative of Discovery: The Quest for a Medication To Treat Methamphetamine Addiction, Part 4

May 3, 2019 | In 2017, Dr. Linda Dwoskin applied to NIDA's Grand Opportunity for Medications Development program for support to continue her quest to develop the first-ever medication to reduce craving and relapse...

Science Highlight

The Brain and our Immune System: Working Together

May 1, 2019 | Growing evidence in animal studies documents bidirectional signaling between the brain and immune system in the development of behavioral and physical health problems.

Science Highlight

Scientists identify brain circuits engaged in compulsive heroin use

April 29, 2019 | People addicted to heroin and other opioids experience withdrawal when they discontinue or no longer have access to these drugs. Scientists at NIDA’s Intramural Research Program (IRP) wanted to learn...

Nora's Blog

How People with Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) Can Lend a Needed Hand in Addiction Research

| En español

April 22, 2019 | One of the major challenges in health science today is that not enough patients participate in clinical trials and other studies. Without volunteers willing and able to participate in studies...

NIDA Notes

Research Links Adolescent Substance Use to Adult Brain Volumes

April 10, 2019 | This research: Revealed associations between nicotine, alcohol, and marijuana use during two periods of adolescence and smaller gray matter volume in two brain areas at age 25. Supports a hypothesis...

Science Highlight

Cues give clues in relapse prevention

April 8, 2019 | Scientists at NIDA's intramural research labs in Baltimore, Maryland have shown that discriminative stimuli can control the incubation of drug craving, even in the absence of conditioned stimuli.

NIDA Notes

Methadone Maintenance Treatment During Incarceration Has Long-Term Benefits

April 4, 2019 | This study reported: Prisoners who received methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) during incarceration were more likely than prisoners who did not receive MMT to engage in the treatment after being released...

NIDA Notes

Interim Buprenorphine Alleviates Psychiatric Symptoms in Waitlisted OUD Patients

March 27, 2019 | This study reported: Interim treatment with buprenorphine significantly improved the psychiatric symptoms of people awaiting comprehensive treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). Buprenorphine treatment, even without concurrent psychosocial counseling, may...

Science Highlight

The Genius of Chemogenetics

March 14, 2019 | Some NIDA-funded scientists have just published findings in the journal Science showing the development of a new, groundbreaking chemogenetics technology for modulating brain function in a remote, precise and ultra-sensitive...

Science Highlight

The brain in pain

March 13, 2019 | NIDA-funded researchers identified a critical role for an internal brain opioid network called the dynorphin-kappa opioid receptor (KOR) system.

Nora's Blog

Prenatal and Early Childhood Brain Development: The HEALthy Brain and Child Development Study

| En español

March 11, 2019 | The NIH HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-term) initiative is helping to fund an ambitious research project called the HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) study. This study, which will...

NIDA Notes

Transcription Factor E2F3a Mediates Cocaine’s Effects on Gene Expression and Addiction-Related Behaviors

February 28, 2019 | NIDA-supported researchers have shown that increased levels of a single protein in the brain's reward center are indispensable for producing some of cocaine's addiction-like effects in animals. Their findings highlight...

NIDA Notes

A Promising Alternative to Opioid Pain Medications

| En español

February 12, 2019 | This research shows: An experimental compound with a dual action at two opioid receptors may provide powerful pain relief without many of opioids' harmful side effects. The compound may also...

NIDA Notes

Disruption of Serotonin Contributes to Cocaine’s Effects

February 5, 2019 | This research: Traced the effects of cocaine-induced disruption of serotonin regulation in the ventral pallidum and orbitofrontal cortex. Suggests that these effects may contribute to drug-seeking and cocaine-associated cognitive impairments...

Science Highlight

The mystery of serotonin’s role in behavior

January 31, 2019 | While selective serotonin uptake inhibitors comprise the major class of modern antidepressants, the role of serotonin in reward function remains poorly understood.