Latest from NIDA | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

National Institute on Drug Abuse to hold teleconference discussing key findings of 2018 Monitoring the Future Survey on teen drug use

December 6, 2018 | The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) will hold a teleconference on Monday, December 17, to discuss the results of the 2018 Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey.

News Release

ABCD study completes enrollment, announces opportunities for scientific engagement

December 3, 2018 | The National Institutes of Health announced today that enrollment for the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study is now complete and, in early 2019, scientists will have access to baseline...

NIDA Notes

Integrated Intervention Benefits People Who Inject Drugs and Have HIV

| En español

November 27, 2018 | In this international trial: Researchers demonstrated the effectiveness of an integrated intervention designed to help people who inject drugs and have HIV overcome obstacles to health care. Participants who received...

Science Highlight

New findings related to cell functions and calcium deficiency; may impact substance use disorders

November 16, 2018 | A new paper just published in Cell Reports describes, for the first time, a novel pathological mechanism that may contribute to a variety of disease states.

Science Highlight

Stopping marijuana use improves memory

November 5, 2018 | A new study suggests that one month of abstinence from cannabis improves working memory in adolescents and young adults, with most of the improvement happening in the first week.

NIDA Notes

Cocaine-Induced Increase in an Immune Protein Promotes Addiction Behaviors in Mice

October 31, 2018 | This research found that: Cocaine produces a portion of its rewarding effects by increasing levels of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) in the brain’s reward center. Treatments that prevent G-CSF signaling...

News Release

NIDA-NIAAA 2018 Mini-Convention: Frontiers in Addiction Research

October 25, 2018 | The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), both part of the National Institutes of Health, will host a one-day mini...

Science Highlight

Compound identified as possible medication target for cocaine use disorder

October 22, 2018 | NIH-funded scientists have now identified a compound that shows promise in reducing self-administration of cocaine in mice.

Science Highlight

Research suggests benzodiazepine use is high while use disorder rates are low

October 18, 2018 | A recent analysis suggests that benzodiazepine use disorders are relatively rare among the adults who use benzodiazepine medications, even if they are misusing them.

NIDA Notes

Prescription Opioid Misuse Treatment Leverages Mindfulness To Amplify Natural Rewards

October 17, 2018 | This research suggests that: Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) reduces opioid misuse among chronic pain patients. MORE shifts patients' attention away from drug cues and toward cues for natural rewards. Dr...

News Release

Study shows impact of social interactions on addictive behavior

October 15, 2018 | A new study published in Nature Neuroscience finds that social interactions can have a profound effect on behaviors related to addiction, and on the brain’s response to drug-associated cues.

NIDA Notes

Switching to Reduced-Nicotine Cigarettes May Aid in Quitting Smoking

October 10, 2018 | This research suggests that: Smokers who switch to cigarettes with very low nicotine content may experience mild and transient increases in some withdrawal symptoms. Cigarettes with reduced nicotine will be...

Science Highlight

Brain ensembles that tune on or off to social exploration

October 9, 2018 | An international team of scientists led by NIDA utilized miniature fluorescence microscopes to record calcium activities from hundreds of excitatory neurons in the mPFC in the brains of mice, while...

News Release

New opioid treatment resources for emergency department clinicians

October 3, 2018 | The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) today announced the availability of informational resources for clinicians interested in initiating buprenorphine treatment in emergency department settings.

NIDA Notes

How Cocaine Cues Get Planted in the Brain

September 6, 2018 | This research found that: An epigenetic mechanism underlies the powerful cocaine–environment associations that promote relapse. The mechanism may be instrumental in all drug reward–based learning. A NIDA-sponsored study sheds light...

News Release

Daily use of marijuana among non-college young adults at all time high

September 5, 2018 | The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) announced that the latest Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey results on substance use trends as teens transition to adulthood are now available online...

Science Highlight

Immediate switch to low levels of nicotine in cigarettes more effective than a gradual reduction

September 4, 2018 | The FDA is considering a regulatory policy to reduce the levels of nicotine in combustible cigarettes to minimally addictive levels.

Science Highlight

Intervention increases use of Medication for both HIV/AIDS and Substance Use Disorders

September 1, 2018 | A vanguard study with people who inject drugs provides evidence that a specific flexible, scalable intervention increases reported use of both antiretroviral therapy for HIV/AIDS (ART) and medication therapy for...

Science Highlight

A look at drug craving

August 28, 2018 | Studies using animal models of addiction have shown that drug seeking progressively increases after drug self-administration stops, which is a phenomenon called incubation of drug craving.

NIDA Notes

Proven Prevention Program Aims To Adapt for Native Americans

August 27, 2018 | This research showed: A survey that is a key tool in the Communities That Care prevention system is largely valid in Native American communities. Adjusting the survey to incorporate culturally...

Science Highlight

E-Cigs linked to heart attacks

August 27, 2018 | An analysis of health data concludes that e-cigarette use, adjusted for smoking conventional cigarettes and other risk factors, is associated with increased risk of myocardial infarction, which is commonly known...

Science Highlight

Mindfulness training and substance use treatment

August 9, 2018 | A NIDA-funded study showed that a mindful awareness training program is associated with improved outcomes for women seeking treatment for substance use disorders.

Science Highlight

How cannabis use disorder affects working memory

August 7, 2018 | Using imaging technologies, NIDA-funded scientists peered into the brains of people with cannabis use disorder to test their working memory, compared to a control group.

NIDA Notes

A New Tool for Investigating HIV in the Brain

August 7, 2018 | In this research: Researchers developed a tool that enables them to closely monitor HIV activity in key brain cells. The tool may accelerate the development of treatments for HIV in...

NIDA Notes

Adolescent Marijuana Use Is Linked to Altered Neural Circuitry and Mood Symptoms

| En español

August 3, 2018 | Some teens's marijuana use has been linked to disrupted communication between two key regions in the brain's reward circuitry at age 20. Disrupted communication between the regions was associated with...

NIDA Notes

E-Cigarettes Promote Smoking Progression in Youth and Depress Quitting Among Adults

August 2, 2018 | E-cigarettes are not an effective tool to reduce combustible-cigarette smoking, two NIDA-supported studies indicate.

Science Highlight

Pregnant women in Appalachia face barriers to opioid treatment

July 26, 2018 | A NIDA-funded study has discovered that pregnant women in Appalachia face barriers to receiving medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorders, from both insurers and providers.

NIDA Notes

Amphetamine Diverts the Brain’s Path to Maturity

| En español

July 26, 2018 | This research: Sheds light on a key mechanism of adolescent brain development. Shows how amphetamine disrupts this mechanism. Links this disruption to animal behaviors that resemble human susceptibility to addiction...

News Release

Journal commentary addresses role of dentists in opioid crisis

July 25, 2018 | The commentary, authored by Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and Dr. Martha Somerman, director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, both...

News Release

Study casts doubt on effectiveness of e-cigs for smoking cessation

July 9, 2018 | A study found no evidence that smokers who used e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) in the United States were more likely to quit smoking cigarettes than smokers...