Opioides

Summarizes animal studies indicating that an antipsychotic drug, trifluoperazine, prevents morphine tolerance in mice.

Reports on research that successfully traced rats’ liking for sweets to a 1-cubic millimeter site in the medial shell of the nucleus accumbens in the brain.

Summarizes a study on the use of incentives to encourage abstinence among methadone maintenance patients in outpatient programs.

Describes a meeting of researchers and clinicians who gathered to discuss the challenges in balancing appropriate pain treatment with efforts to minimize prescription opioid misuse.

Reports on research showing that the neurons that deliver dopamine to two regions of the brain's mesolimbic reward system respond differently to opioids, an important finding for drug treatment research.

Describes the work of researchers who have found a statistical link between one region on chromosome 17 and an increased risk of opioid dependence.

Describes research to develop new compounds that match or exceed the pain relief provided by opioids while avoiding their shortcomings.