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

Measuring the complex path to a prescription opioid use disorder

December 4, 2019 | NIDA scientists examine an accepted model of the causes of depression to determine its usefulness as a foundation to predict the probability of prescription opioid use disorder.

Science Highlight

New discovery on the brain’s reward pathway

November 27, 2019 | Scientists at NIDA’s Intramural Research Program (IRP) have identified a population of neurons engaged in the compulsive nature of food seeking, which, like substance use, engage the brain’s reward circuit...

NIDA Notes

Nerve-Cell Growth During Abstinence From Methamphetamine May Promote Reinstatement of Drug Use in Rats

November 20, 2019 | Neurogenesis that occurs during abstinence from methamphetamine in a brain region related to memory and learning may promote relapse-like behavior.

News Release

Event registration opens for 10th anniversary of National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week®

November 7, 2019 | The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) announced that event registration begins today for the 10th annual National Drug and...

Science Spotlight

NIH-funded study finds teens prefer mint and mango vaping flavors

November 5, 2019 | A new analysis suggests that teens prefer mint and mango as their vaping flavors of choice for e-cigarettes

Science Highlight

Healing the altered brains of smokers

October 31, 2019 | A study from NIDA’s Intramural Research Program illuminates the roles of the brain’s striatum and habenula in nicotine withdrawal and reward, suggesting that current medications for smoking cessation are not...

NIDA Notes

Mindful Awareness in Body-Oriented Therapy Proves Useful in Women Treated for Substance Use Disorder

October 31, 2019 | Mindful Awareness in Body-Oriented Therapy (MABT) improved emotion regulation, reduced craving, and promoted abstinence in women with a history of trauma and emotional problems receiving outpatient treatment for substance use...

Science Highlight

Who is most likely to become addicted to nicotine?

October 25, 2019 | NIDA scientists discover that connectivity between insular regions of the brain before using nicotine can predict severity of addiction.

NIDA Notes

Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities in Tobacco Smoke Exposure Persist Among U.S. Children

October 24, 2019 | The number of children (ages 3 to 11 years) in the United States who are exposed to tobacco smoke decreased steadily from 1999 to 2014. However, childhood tobacco smoke exposure...

Testimony

Marijuana and America’s Health: Questions and Issues for Policy Makers

October 23, 2019 | Go to the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control site Chairman Cornyn, Co-Chairwoman Feinstein and members of the Caucus on International Narcotics Control, we appreciate the opportunity to share the...

News Release

Nicotine addiction linked to diabetes through a DNA-regulating gene in animal models

October 16, 2019 | Researchers have discovered a mechanism in rats that links cigarette smoking and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

NIDA Notes

Machine Learning Applied to Brain Imaging Data Predicts Response to Cocaine Use Disorder Treatment

October 14, 2019 | This study demonstrated that functional connectivity among a large number of brain regions predicts patients’ chances of achieving abstinence in treatment for cocaine use disorder.

News Release

NIDA-NIAAA 2019 Mini-Convention: Frontiers in Addiction Research

October 10, 2019 | 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-convention...

Science Highlight

Measuring sleep challenges in opioid use disorder patients

September 25, 2019 | A new study at NIDA’s Intramural Research Center measured sleep patterns in opioid use disorder patients and found that clinic appointment hours make a difference in sleep quality. They also...

News Release

Teen e-cigarette use doubles since 2017

September 18, 2019 | Data from the 2019 Monitoring the Future Survey of eighth, 10th and 12th graders show alarmingly high rates of e-cigarette use compared to just a year ago, with rates doubling...

News Release

Marijuana use at historic highs among college-age adults

September 13, 2019 | Newly released Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey data on drug use in college-age adults ages 19-22 shows an increase in marijuana use in the past five years, including vaping with...

Emerging Trend

CDC and FDA Issue Updates on Vaping-Related Health Issues

September 12, 2019 | The CDC and FDA have posted important information for consumers related to recent deaths and illnesses that could be linked to vaping.

Science Highlight

NASEM releases National Agenda on Children’s Behavioral Health

September 11, 2019 | The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine has released a national scientific agenda on Fostering Healthy Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Development in Children and Youth, recommending a comprehensive approach...

Science Highlight

Unraveling the mystery of the glutamate-dopamine connection

September 3, 2019 | Investigators identify a subpopulation of calbindin neurons with the capability to co-release glutamate and dopamine in the nucleus accumbens shell.

Emerging Trend

U.S. Surgeon General Warning on Marijuana Use in Adolescence and During Pregnancy

August 30, 2019 | The U.S. Surgeon General has issued a warning about the potential health risks of marijuana use in adolescence and during pregnancy.

Science Highlight

Worms lead scientists to a new anti-opioid system

August 29, 2019 | A team of NIH-funded scientists used worms to discover a surprising biological system that counteracts the effects of opioids, offering a potential new target for improving the safety of opioid...

NIDA Notes

Rats Prefer Social Interaction to Heroin or Methamphetamine

August 23, 2019 | This study showed that rats will forgo heroin and methamphetamine in favor of spending time with another rat. It also highlights the importance of incorporating voluntary choice between drugs and...

Science Highlight

New findings could lead to reduced replication of the HIV virus

August 14, 2019 | In this study, NIDA-funded scientists found that the HIV RNA genome has two previously unknown types of RNA marks.

Science Highlight

Teens who misuse medicines get them from multiple sources

August 8, 2019 | Two NIDA-funded studies have found that adolescents using multiple sources for prescription medications are at high risk for other substance use.

News Release

Co-prescribing naloxone in Medicare Part D increases

August 6, 2019 | A study found that overall national rates for naloxone co-prescription along with any opioid among Medicare Part D patients increased from 1.5 per 1000 patients receiving opioid prescriptions in 2016...

NIDA Notes

THC Exposure in Adolescence Disrupts Brain Maturation in Animals

August 5, 2019 | A NIDA-supported study may help explain observed links between adolescent marijuana use and vulnerability to psychiatric disorders.

Science Highlight

First time drug use more common in summertime

August 1, 2019 | 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...

Science Highlight

Parenting programs lead to healthier behaviors

July 25, 2019 | 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...

News Release

NIH establishes network to improve opioid addiction treatment in criminal justice settings

July 24, 2019 | The National Institutes of Health will award 12 grants to form the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN) to support research on quality addiction treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD)...

Science Highlight

Similarities between aggressive and addictive behaviors

July 23, 2019 | 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...