Teens who misuse medicines get them from multiple sources
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Two NIDA-funded studies have found that adolescents using multiple sources for prescription medications are at high risk for other substance use.
Research Highlights
THC Exposure in Adolescence Disrupts Brain Maturation in Animals
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A NIDA-supported study may help explain observed links between adolescent marijuana use and vulnerability to psychiatric disorders.
First time drug use more common in summertime
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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...
Parenting programs lead to healthier behaviors
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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...
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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...
Similarities between aggressive and addictive behaviors
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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...
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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...
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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.
Drug Use and Its Consequences Increase Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults
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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’...
Prescription opioid misuse in high school linked to later heroin use
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A NIDA-funded study suggests that misuse of prescription opioid pain relievers in high school could be linked to heroin use later in life.
Medical Marijuana Laws and Opioid Overdose Rates
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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.
Female reproductive cycle affects cocaine craving in animal study
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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...
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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...
Nicotine and Cannabis Have Offsetting Effects on Resting Brain Connectivity
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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...
Remembering Two Neurophysiology Pioneers
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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...
Cannabis Dependence Is Associated With Changes in Neural Circuitry That May Contribute to Psychopathology
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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...
Brief drug use disrupts learning mechanisms in the brain
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In a new animal study, scientists at NIDA’s Intramural Research Program have demonstrated that cocaine use profoundly disrupts these teaching signals.
Narrative of Discovery: The Quest for a Medication To Treat Methamphetamine Addiction, Part 4
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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...
The Brain and our Immune System: Working Together
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Growing evidence in animal studies documents bidirectional signaling between the brain and immune system in the development of behavioral and physical health problems.
Scientists identify brain circuits engaged in compulsive heroin use
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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...
How People with Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) Can Lend a Needed Hand in Addiction Research
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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...
Research Links Adolescent Substance Use to Adult Brain Volumes
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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...
Cues give clues in relapse prevention
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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.
Methadone Maintenance Treatment During Incarceration Has Long-Term Benefits
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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...
Interim Buprenorphine Alleviates Psychiatric Symptoms in Waitlisted OUD Patients
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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...
The Genius of Chemogenetics
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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...
The brain in pain
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NIDA-funded researchers identified a critical role for an internal brain opioid network called the dynorphin-kappa opioid receptor (KOR) system.
Prenatal and Early Childhood Brain Development: The HEALthy Brain and Child Development Study
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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...
Transcription Factor E2F3a Mediates Cocaine’s Effects on Gene Expression and Addiction-Related Behaviors
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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...
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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...