Research Highlights | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

The True, Deadly Scope of America’s Fentanyl Problem

May 1, 2018 | Today, a new analysis in JAMA by epidemiologists at NIDA and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reveals the scope of the crisis, and the rapidity with which...

NIDA Notes

Fear of Distress Signals Risk for Opioid Misuse in Chronic Pain Patients

April 24, 2018 | In this research: Among patients with chronic pain, those who reported less ability to tolerate physical or emotional distress were more likely to misuse opioid analgesics. Neither pain severity nor...

Science Highlight

Overdose drug shows promise as stroke treatment

April 17, 2018 | Preclinical research lays the groundwork for developing the first drug to promote recovery from ischemic stroke, a leading cause of adult disability.

Science Highlight

Communities That Care program shows success in reducing substance use and behavioral issues in adolescents

April 13, 2018 | The CTC is a prevention planning and implementation system that trains community coalition is to assess their community’s needs, then select and use evidence-based programs and policies to reduce risk...

Nora's Blog

Listening to Patients’ Voices in Developing New Opioid Addiction Treatments

April 5, 2018 | One of the pillars of the current federal initiatives to end the opioid crisis is the development of new medications to treat opioid addiction. The FDA Patient-Focused Drug Development Initiative...

Science Highlight

Study highlights how opioid receptors organize to block pain

March 27, 2018 | A NIDA-funded study explored how opioids such as morphine act within pain circuits in the brain and spinal cord, while attaching to receptors on the surface of nerve cells (neurons).

Nora's Blog

What Does It Mean When We Call Addiction a Brain Disorder?

March 23, 2018 | Informed Americans no longer view addiction as a moral failing, and more and more policymakers are recognizing that punishment is an ineffective and inappropriate tool for addressing a person’s drug...

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Gut-brain axis offers clues to treatments for addictive disorders

March 15, 2018 | Scientists have investigated how the stomach-derived hormone ghrelin affects alcohol-seeking behaviors, discovering for the first time in humans that administration of ghrelin intravenously significantly increased alcohol intake in heavy drinking...

Science Highlight

Stimulating news about brain glutamate

March 12, 2018 | NIDA-funded scientists conducted the first study showing that the signaling transmitter glutamate increases in the brain after stimulant use in humans, which has a greater effect in females.

NIDA Notes

Why Marijuana Displeases

March 8, 2018 | Through research on mice, a mechanism for how THC, the active ingredient in marijuana can produce rewarding, neutral or negative experiences was demonstrated.

Science Highlight

Teens, E-Cigs and Toxins?

March 7, 2018 | NIDA-funded scientists have found at least five potentially harmful toxins in the body of human adolescents who use electronic cigarettes.

Science Highlight

Repurposed arthritis drug could become a non-opioid pain reliever

March 6, 2018 | A compound once studied as an arthritis therapy has been given new life as a possible non-opioid pain reliever by NIDA-funded scientists.

Science Highlight

The brain's hyper-network uncovered

February 26, 2018 | Complex brain actions reflect multiple networks of activity in the brain, according to a paper authored by researchers from the NIDA Intramural Research Program, in collaboration with scientists from Italy...

Science Highlight

Neuronal ensembles take center stage

February 22, 2018 | A new animal study from NIDA's Intramural Research Program (IRP) shines light on the underlying mechanisms in the brain's prefrontal cortex and its role in learning.

Nora's Blog

Could Naltrexone Be Used to Treat Pregnant Women with Opioid Addiction?

February 22, 2018 | A recent study published in Lancet found that extended-release naltrexone was equally effective at reducing illicit opioid use as the partial agonist buprenorphine if patients could be successfully initiated on...

NIDA Notes

Long-Term Marijuana Use Is Associated With Health Problems Later in Life

February 8, 2018 | This study found that: Marijuana users exhibited six different patterns of marijuana use from ages 18 to 50. Longer-term marijuana use (extending from age 18 into the late 20s or...

Science Highlight

Brain Structure Tracks Reward's Value and Steps to Obtain It

February 5, 2018 | Scientists at the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s Intramural Research Program (NIDA IRP) have demonstrated distinct roles for two subregions of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in goal-directed behaviors.

NIDA Notes

Stressful Experiences Affect Likelihood of Remission of Drug Dependence, Continued Drug Use, and Relapse

February 2, 2018 | This study: Showed that stressful life events are associated with reductions in a person’s chances of becoming or remaining abstinent from drugs for at least 3 years. Suggests that coping...

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Study shows e-cigarettes affect brain similarly to other nicotine sources

January 31, 2018 | Nicotine-containing electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) produce brain changes similar to those caused by other nicotine sources, such as combustible cigarettes or nicotine lozenges, a study sponsored by the National Institute on...

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Marijuana drug use increasing during pregnancy

January 29, 2018 | Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug during pregnancy, and its use is rising.

Science Highlight

Hospital best practices linked to modest changes in prescription opioid dispensing

January 25, 2018 | The authors of this study assessed whether the Washington state hospital mandates had any impact on Medicaid beneficiary opioid dispensing rates after an ED visit.

NIDA Notes

A Family-Oriented Intervention May Reduce the Effects of Poverty on Brain Development

January 24, 2018 | This study found that: Childhood poverty was associated with reduced volumes of limbic brain regions in adulthood. The reduced limbic volumes were associated with depression and smoking in adulthood. Participation...

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A “New Vista” for Treating Cocaine Addiction

January 17, 2018 | Two recent studies suggest that medications that activate a pair of opioid receptors may weaken cocaine users’ drive to take the stimulant.

NIDA Notes

Available Soon: NIDA’s Research E-Cigarette

January 12, 2018 | NIDA and NJOY, LLC, have developed a Standard Research E-Cigarette. The device will help researchers resolve many outstanding questions about how e-cigarettes affect health.

Nora's Blog

NIDA’s Past-Year Achievements Point the Way Toward Future Advances

January 10, 2018 | 2017 brought exciting new basic science findings, including some striking new insights into the structure and functioning of receptors that play important roles in substance use, addiction, and pain.

Science Highlight

Oxytocin protocol appears workable and safe for methadone patients who use cocaine

January 9, 2018 | Researchers supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse have developed a protocol for adjunctive oxytocin treatment, and a pilot study has indicated that it is workable and safe for...

Nora's Blog

Monitoring the Future Results Show Reduced Opioid Misuse but Popularity of Vaping Among Youth

December 14, 2017 | Today the results of the 2017 Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey were released by NIDA-funded researchers at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and overall the news is encouraging.

Nora's Blog

NIDA’S Avant-Garde Award Competition Continues to Foster Transformative HIV/AIDS Research

December 1, 2017 | NIH-funded science continues to make great strides in the fight against HIV. To foster such research, 10 years ago NIDA created its Avant-Garde Award competition to fund bold projects that...

NIDA Notes

Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids May Damage the Heart and Arteries

November 30, 2017 | This research: Demonstrated that use of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) is associated with compromised heart pumping and atherosclerotic plaque. Suggests that clinicians should inquire about AAS use when young or middle-aged...

Nora's Blog

Mobilizing Citizen Science to Address the Overdose Epidemic

November 16, 2017 | Social media and crowdsourcing apps could be particularly useful for gathering and sharing information in real time about overdoses and using that information to prevent overdose deaths, thereby translating “citizen...