Report Discusses Co-Occurrence of Drug Abuse and Other Mental Disorders
Many individuals who abuse drugs also have other mental disorders. NIDA's latest Research Report describes the co-occurrence, or comorbidity, of substance use disorders and other psychiatric disorders such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), schizophrenia, and depression. Drug addiction is a brain disease "characterized by compulsive, at times uncontrollable drug craving, seeking, and use despite devastating consequences—behaviors that stem from drug-induced changes in brain structure and function. These changes occur in some of the same brain areas that are disrupted in