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

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.

News Release

Study upends conventional view of opioid mechanism of action

May 10, 2018 | A new discovery shows that opioids used to treat pain, such as morphine and oxycodone, produce their effects by binding to receptors inside neurons, contrary to conventional wisdom that they...

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...

News Release

Nearly half of opioid-related overdose deaths involve fentanyl

May 1, 2018 | An analysis of opioid-related overdose deaths found that synthetic opioids, such as illicit fentanyl, have surpassed prescription opioids as the most common drug involved in overdose deaths in the U.S.

News Release

Dr. Kurt Rasmussen to lead NIDA’s therapeutics and medical consequences division

April 30, 2018 | The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a component of the National Institutes of Health, welcomed Dr. Kurt Rasmussen today as the Director of the Division of Therapeutics and Medical...

News Release

Understanding the Neuroscience of Addiction: what it means for prevention and treatment

April 25, 2018 | Advances in the understanding of brain development, as well as the role that genes and environment play in addiction, are the focus of a review article published today in The...

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.

News Release

Five million American adults misusing prescription stimulants

April 16, 2018 | Looking at annual averages, approximately 6.6% (or 16 million) of U.S. adults used prescription stimulants in the preceding year; 4.5% (or 11 million) used prescription stimulants appropriately (without misuse); 2.1%...

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...

News Release

Study changes long-held concepts of cell decoding

March 28, 2018 | Scientists at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Intramural Research Program (IRP) have uncovered evidence that shows a more complex and elaborate role for the body's hard-working G protein-coupled...

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).

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E-cigarette ads associated with cigarette smoking initiation among youth

March 26, 2018 | A scientific study finds that receptivity to e-cigarette advertising increases the likelihood of trying conventional cigarettes one year later.

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Non-psychoactive cannabinoid may enable drug addiction recovery

March 26, 2018 | Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive chemical found in marijuana, may help reduce the risk of drug and alcohol relapse.

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...

News Release

NIDA's 2018 Avant-Garde awards highlight immune response and killer cells

March 13, 2018 | NIDA’s annual Avant-Garde Award competition, now in its 11th year, is intended to stimulate high-impact research that may lead to groundbreaking opportunities for the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS in...

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.

News Release

Greek life membership associated with binge drinking and marijuana use in later life

February 15, 2018 | A scientific study finds that close to half of residential fraternity members had symptoms of alcohol use disorder (AUD) by age 35, and that living at college is associated with...

News Release

Medication in Prison Associated with Reductions in Fatal Opioid Overdoses After Release

February 14, 2018 | A state-led initiative created within the Rhode Island correctional system showed that offering medication to inmates with opioid use disorders reduced fatal overdoses once the inmates were released.

News Release

NIH releases first dataset from unprecedented study of adolescent brain development

February 13, 2018 | Approximately 30 terabytes of data (about three times the size of the Library of Congress collection), obtained from the first 4,500 participants, will be available to scientists worldwide to conduct...

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...

Science Highlight

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...

Science Highlight

Marijuana drug use increasing during pregnancy

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