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

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...

NIDA Notes

Drug Use and Its Consequences Increase Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults

July 10, 2019 | Studies found: The spread of marijuana use and the opioid epidemic over the past 10 years have affected middle-aged and older Americans. Prescription opioid and benzodiazepine misuse increased older adults’...

Science Highlight

Prescription opioid misuse in high school linked to later heroin use

July 9, 2019 | A NIDA-funded study suggests that misuse of prescription opioid pain relievers in high school could be linked to heroin use later in life.

Science Highlight

Medical Marijuana Laws and Opioid Overdose Rates

July 5, 2019 | A new study underscores the need for additional research on the effect of medical marijuana laws on opioid overdose deaths and cautions against drawing a causal connection between the two.

Science Highlight

Female reproductive cycle affects cocaine craving in animal study

July 2, 2019 | Researchers at NIDA’s Intramural Research Program (IRP) wanted to determine if the incubation of craving would be different in male and female rats and if the effect is stronger after...

NIDA Notes

Nicotine and Cannabis Have Offsetting Effects on Resting Brain Connectivity

June 24, 2019 | This research: Adds to research showing that nicotine and cannabis have interactive effects on brain structure and function. Suggests that specialized treatment interventions may be appropriate for people who use...

News Release

Study finds increased cannabis use during pregnancy

June 18, 2019 | Cannabis use more than doubled among pregnant women in the United States during the period 2002-2017.

NIDA Notes

Cannabis Dependence Is Associated With Changes in Neural Circuitry That May Contribute to Psychopathology

May 21, 2019 | People with cannabis dependence have changes in neural circuitry in brain regions related to reward processing, habit formation, and psychopathology. These changes in neural circuitry may provide a useful marker...

News Release

Project to deter opioid tampering wins 2019 NIDA Addiction Science Award

May 17, 2019 | A 14-year-old’s innovative approach to prevent tampering and misuse of opioid pills won a first place Addiction Science Award at the 2019 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF)—the world’s...

News Release

National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program Holds Opioid Symposium

May 15, 2019 | The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Intramural Research Program will hold a one-day symposium to summarize the most recent advances in opioid research.

Science Highlight

Brief drug use disrupts learning mechanisms in the brain

May 9, 2019 | In a new animal study, scientists at NIDA’s Intramural Research Program have demonstrated that cocaine use profoundly disrupts these teaching signals.

NIDA Notes

Narrative of Discovery: The Quest for a Medication To Treat Methamphetamine Addiction, Part 4

May 3, 2019 | In 2017, Dr. Linda Dwoskin applied to NIDA's Grand Opportunity for Medications Development program for support to continue her quest to develop the first-ever medication to reduce craving and relapse...

Science Highlight

The Brain and our Immune System: Working Together

May 1, 2019 | Growing evidence in animal studies documents bidirectional signaling between the brain and immune system in the development of behavioral and physical health problems.

Science Highlight

Scientists identify brain circuits engaged in compulsive heroin use

April 29, 2019 | People addicted to heroin and other opioids experience withdrawal when they discontinue or no longer have access to these drugs. Scientists at NIDA’s Intramural Research Program (IRP) wanted to learn...

News Release

Opioid Dose Variability Associated with Overdose

April 22, 2019 | A new study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that high dose variability increases the odds for an opioid overdose independent of dose alone.

NIDA Notes

Research Links Adolescent Substance Use to Adult Brain Volumes

April 10, 2019 | This research: Revealed associations between nicotine, alcohol, and marijuana use during two periods of adolescence and smaller gray matter volume in two brain areas at age 25. Supports a hypothesis...

Science Highlight

Cues give clues in relapse prevention

April 8, 2019 | Scientists at NIDA's intramural research labs in Baltimore, Maryland have shown that discriminative stimuli can control the incubation of drug craving, even in the absence of conditioned stimuli.

NIDA Notes

Methadone Maintenance Treatment During Incarceration Has Long-Term Benefits

April 4, 2019 | This study reported: Prisoners who received methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) during incarceration were more likely than prisoners who did not receive MMT to engage in the treatment after being released...

Emerging Trend

FDA Special Announcement: Reports of Seizures After Using Nicotine Vaping Devices

April 4, 2019 | The FDA has become aware that some people who use e-cigarettes have experienced seizures, with most reports involving youth or young adult users.

NIDA Notes

Interim Buprenorphine Alleviates Psychiatric Symptoms in Waitlisted OUD Patients

March 27, 2019 | This study reported: Interim treatment with buprenorphine significantly improved the psychiatric symptoms of people awaiting comprehensive treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). Buprenorphine treatment, even without concurrent psychosocial counseling, may...

News Release

Opioids without the risk of addiction?

March 26, 2019 | Investigators have found that the opioid-galanin receptor heteromers determine the different effects of methadone as compared to morphine and fentanyl, showing methadone with a weaker ability to activate the dopaminergic...

News Release

Dr. Jack Stein appointed NIDA Chief of Staff

March 20, 2019 | Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), has appointed Jack B. Stein, Ph.D., to be the NIDA Chief of Staff, a newly created position to...

News Release

Opioid Overdose Reversal News: FDA-approved naloxone devices produce substantially higher blood levels of naloxone than improvised nasal spray

March 15, 2019 | A new study looked at how well the FDA-approved nasal spray and autoinjector compared to the improvised nasal devices, which are not FDA-approved.

Science Highlight

The Genius of Chemogenetics

March 14, 2019 | Some NIDA-funded scientists have just published findings in the journal Science showing the development of a new, groundbreaking chemogenetics technology for modulating brain function in a remote, precise and ultra-sensitive...

News Release

Serotonin Unexpectedly Regulates Expression of Brain Genes

March 13, 2019 | The brain chemical serotonin can regulate expression of genes within neurons in a very unexpected way, as described in a NIDA-funded paper just published in the journal Nature.