Research Highlights

Cigarette Smoking Increases the Likelihood of Drug Use Relapse

May 31, 2018 | This research: Found that cigarette smoking increased the likelihood of relapse among people in recovery from substance use disorder (SUD). Suggests that helping patients quit and remain abstinent from smoking...

Science Highlight

Breathing under the influence of … fentanyl

May 30, 2018 | An animal study at NIDA's intramural research labs suggests fentanyl-induced respiratory depression affects the temperature of the brain, triggering brain hypoxia and hyperglycemia.

Nora's Blog

NIDA-Supported Science Leads to First FDA-Approved Medication for Opioid Withdrawal

May 16, 2018 | This week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved lofexidine, the first medication targeted specifically to treat the physical symptoms associated with opioid withdrawal.

Science Highlight

What science says about Tobacco + Marijuana + Pregnancy

May 11, 2018 | A NIDA-funded study suggests that pregnant women who smoke both marijuana and cigarettes have a higher likelihood of smaller babies and increased maternal stress and aggression.

Nora's Blog

Million-Participant NIH Study Could Yield Important Insights into Addiction and Pain

May 7, 2018 | New data-gathering and analytic capabilities are enabling the kinds of massive, long-term studies needed to investigate genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors that contribute to disease.

NIDA Notes

Narrative of Discovery: The Quest for a Medication To Treat Methamphetamine Addiction, Part 3

May 4, 2018 | Dr. Linda Dwoskin feels just one small step away from success in her effort to develop the first-ever medication to treat methamphetamine addiction. She and colleagues at the Universities of...

Nora's Blog

The True, Deadly Scope of America’s Fentanyl Problem

| En español

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?

| En español

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...

Science Highlight

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

| En español

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

Cigarette Smoking Increases the Likelihood of Drug Use Relapse

Breathing under the influence of … fentanyl

NIDA-Supported Science Leads to First FDA-Approved Medication for Opioid Withdrawal

What science says about Tobacco + Marijuana + Pregnancy

Million-Participant NIH Study Could Yield Important Insights into Addiction and Pain

Narrative of Discovery: The Quest for a Medication To Treat Methamphetamine Addiction, Part 3

The True, Deadly Scope of America’s Fentanyl Problem

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

Overdose drug shows promise as stroke treatment

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

Listening to Patients’ Voices in Developing New Opioid Addiction Treatments

Study highlights how opioid receptors organize to block pain

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

Gut-brain axis offers clues to treatments for addictive disorders

Stimulating news about brain glutamate

Why Marijuana Displeases

Teens, E-Cigs and Toxins?

Repurposed arthritis drug could become a non-opioid pain reliever

The brain's hyper-network uncovered

Neuronal ensembles take center stage

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

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

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

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

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

Marijuana drug use increasing during pregnancy

Hospital best practices linked to modest changes in prescription opioid dispensing

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

A “New Vista” for Treating Cocaine Addiction

Available Soon: NIDA’s Research E-Cigarette