This is Archived Content. This content is available for historical purposes only. It may not reflect the current state of science or language from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). View current news releases on nida.nih.gov.
Research suggests new genetic target to treat cocaine addiction
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NIDA-funded research shows that a specific mutation in the CYFIP2 gene dramatically lowers responses to cocaine in a mouse model. The mutation appears to affect the CYFIP2 protein, a key...
Registration open for Drug Facts Chat Day; 2014 Drug IQ Challenge preview available
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Schools can now register for Drug Facts Chat Day, NIDA’s annual Web chat that connects NIH scientists with teens around the country, at http://drugfactsweek.drugabuse.gov/chat/index.php. YouTube embedded video: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/1HlsRRjwa2I Drug Facts...
Sixty percent of 12th graders do not view regular marijuana use as harmful
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The percentage of high-schoolers who see great risk from being regular marijuana users has dropped dramatically in the past 10 years, according to this year’s Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey...
Three NIH Institutes highlight collaboration for addiction research
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Research laboratory Today marks the website launch for the Collaborative Research on Addiction at NIH (CRAN) initiative. Comprised of representatives from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National...
Stimulant-addicted patients can quit smoking without hindering treatment
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Smokers who are addicted to cocaine or methamphetamine can quit smoking while being treated for their stimulant addiction, without interfering with stimulant addiction treatment. This is according to new research...
New study shows that drug overdose is the leading cause of death in former prisoners
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A new study identifies drug overdose as the leading cause of death in former prisoners, with prescription opioids most commonly involved in these deaths. In addition, women leaving prison had...
New breath test may detect recent marijuana use
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Marijuana causes serious impairment in motor skills, judgment, and perception, which are necessary for operating a vehicle safely. In the past, testing drivers for recent marijuana use has not been...
Dr. Wilson Compton named Deputy Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse
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Wilson Compton, M.D., M.P.E., a nationally known expert on the causes and prevention of drug abuse, has been appointed the Deputy Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA,)...
NIDA’s Dr. Wilson Compton receives Health and Human Services Meritorious Service Award
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Dr. Wilson Compton and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Dr. Wilson Compton, director of NIDA’s Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research, was one of ten people to receive the Health...
Gene variant may predict whether a person will benefit from nicotine replacement therapies
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NIH-funded research shows that differences in the CYP2A6 gene -- which controls in part how fast nicotine is metabolized -- can predict whether nicotine replacement therapies (nicotine lozenge and/or nicotine...
Medication to treat marijuana addiction may be on the horizon
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Marijuana plant NIDA funded researchers report that kynurenic acid is a naturally occurring substance in the brain that can lessen the effects of THC in animal models of drug abuse...
No added benefit from risk-reduction counseling at HIV testing
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For persons at risk for HIV, brief risk-reduction counseling at the time of a rapid HIV test does not reduce new sexually transmitted infections in a six-month follow-up. This counseling...
NIDA’s drug abuse information for teens goes mobile
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Teens -- and adults who care for them -- can now find answers to questions about drug abuse and addiction more easily, and through smartphones and tablets. Spanish language versions...
NIDA updates its consumer treatment guide in recognition of National Recovery Month
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People seeking addiction treatment for themselves or loved ones will now have an updated resource with questions they should ask potential treatment centers. The revised consumer guide, Seeking Drug Abuse...
National Drug Facts Week 2014 begins January 27
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As the school year begins, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) encourages educators, community groups and parents to begin planning events for the fourth annual National Drug Facts Week...
2013 Avant-Garde Awards explore HIV without AIDS, protective genes
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Dr. Jacques Normand discusses the NIDA Avant-Garde Award program Watch video With proposals ranging from a combined cocaine/HIV vaccine to unlocking the mystery of genes that protect some people from...
Parents and siblings influence future drug risk in different ways
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NIH-funded research using twin and adoption studies shows that siblings exert a greater environmental influence on a person’s risk for future substance use and other related disorders than was previously...
NIDA and Lightlake Therapeutics partner to expand access to medication to treat opioid overdose
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NIDA and Lightlake Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing novel treatments for addictions and conducting clinical trials with intranasal naloxone for the treatment of binge eating disorder, have entered into...
Statement from NIDA Director Nora Volkow on NIDA’s commitment to marijuana research
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As part of its mandate to study drug abuse and addiction, and other health effects of both legal and illegal drugs, NIDA funds a wide range of research on and...
Voluntary Control of Brain Reward Circuitry
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The dopaminergic system is involved in the encoding and processing of reward and reward-dependent learning. The carefully balanced activity of these dopamine neurons is also one of the first functions...
Meditation and Smoking Reduction
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Cigarette smoking results in more than 440,000 deaths in the United States each year, with an additional 8.6 million people suffering from a serious smoking-related illness. Despite the recognition of...
New Research in Mice Provides Further Evidence that Marijuana Harms the Developing Brain
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NIDA-supported researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have found further evidence that marijuana exposure during adolescence, when prefrontal areas of the brain are still maturing, can produce...
Funding Opportunity Announcements for Collaborative Research on Addiction at NIH (CRAN)
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NIDA, NIAAA, and NCI announce the release of 2 new FOAs to promote the goals of Collaborative Research on Addiction at NIH (CRAN; formerly known as functional integration). Its mission...
Research partnership launched to improve juvenile justice prevention and treatment services for drug abuse, HIV
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This week, NIDA launched the Juvenile Justice Translational Research on Interventions for Adolescents in the Legal System (JJ-TRIALS). As part of this JJ-TRIALS cooperative, seven research centers will work together...
Special journal edition focuses on integrating brain science with addiction treatment
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PAB special edition focuses on translational research One of the greatest challenges in addiction research is the translation of research findings to practical clinical use. To that end, the Psychology...
Two studies highlight strategies to reduce teen drug use
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Two studies have reported success in reducing teen drug use. One study examined the effectiveness of specific policies that limit teen access to tobacco products (for example, ID requirements, vending...
Cocaine Vaccine Stops Cocaine in its Tracks
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Cocaine addiction is a major problem for which there is no approved pharmacotherapy. One of the novel approaches being explored right now to treat cocaine addiction is based on classical...
Study of “screen time” on mood, memory, and cognition wins top NIH Addiction Science Award
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First place winner of 2013 Addiction Science Award (l-r): Judges and NIDA grantees Dr. Janet Neisewander and Dr. M. Foster Olive, Arizona State University; winner Zarin Ibnat Rahman; and NIDA’s...
Heroin and cocaine vaccines successful in preclinical studies
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Anti-Drug Vaccine Animation Two recent preclinical studies have reported successful tests for vaccines to help overcome heroin or cocaine addiction. For a copy of the study abstract on the heroin...
NIDA and INSERM forge new collaboration on the neuroscience of addiction
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l-r: Dr. Nora Volkow, NIDA Director; François Delattre, French Ambassador; and Dr. André Syrota, President and CEO of INSERM On May 7, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and...
Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs Show Promise at Curbing Abuse, but Need Improvement
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Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) have been established in most U.S. states to track prescriptions of opioid analgesics, sedatives, and amphetamine-type stimulants. Abuse of such drugs—especially opioids—has reached epidemic proportions...
NIDA and AstraZeneca partner to develop potential addiction medication
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NIDA and AstraZeneca, a global research-based biopharmaceutical company, have joined efforts to explore a novel medication to treat drug addiction. The scientific partnership will explore a specific molecule that modulates...
Brain Signature of Physical Pain Identified
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In a provocative study just published in the new England Journal, NIDA-supported scientists reported they were able to "see" physical pain on MRI brain scans and, for the first time...
New Study Tracks Epidemic of Prescription Opioid Overdose Deaths in New York City
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Fatal overdoses from prescription opioids are an epidemic in the United States, and a new NIDA-funded study published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence shows the startling explosion of this crisis...
NIH study sheds light on how to reset the addicted brain
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Could drug addiction treatment of the future be as simple as an on/off switch in the brain? A study in rats has found that stimulating a key part of the...
Genes linked to hepatitis C viral clearance could lead to personalized treatments
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A NIH-funded study, published February 19 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, shows that possessing either of two specific gene variants make it more likely that a patient’s own immune...
NIDA research shines light on a potential target for cocaine addiction
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NIDA research published January 17 in Cell provides insight into the mechanism of action of the Sigma-1 receptor (Sig-1R), a protein located inside brain nerve cells that has long been...
New study pools data to give insights into Hep C virus and outcomes for infected drug users
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Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections remain a major public health problem among people who inject drugs. Until now, however, studies of HCV infection in this group have been limited by...
Prior marijuana use could increase addictive power of nicotine
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Rats previously exposed to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active ingredient in marijuana, found nicotine more rewarding than rats not exposed to THC, according to NIDA research published in Neuropsychopharmacology. Although...
Science Highlights Sex Differences
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Past clinical studies of people with drug use disorders have shown that women and men experience and respond to drug cues differently, raising the possibility that treatment approaches effective for...
Sperm cells affected by Cocaine Exposure
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Results of a recent study in an animal model of cocaine addiction show that paternal cocaine self-administration caused epigenetic changes (i.e., changes in the patterns of gene expression independent of...
Prevention efforts focused on youth reduce prescription abuse into adulthood
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Middle school students from small towns and rural communities who received any of three community-based prevention programs were less likely to abuse prescription medications in late adolescence and young adulthood...
Mice Take More Cocaine if They Lack D3Rs
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Results from a recent study in a mouse model of cocaine addiction suggest that the type 3 dopamine receptor (D3R) may play a protective role against the addictive power of...
National Drug Facts Week events now in all 50 states
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For the first time, National Drug Facts Week (NDFW) -- a week-long observance that gives teens factual information on drugs and drug abuse -- will include community events in all...
Cigarette Smoking Linked to Early Use (and Liking) of Cannabis
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Cigarette smoking and cannabis use overlap—over 90 percent of people who have used cannabis are cigarette smokers or have smoked at least once in their lives. A new large study...
Home visit intervention reduces behavioral risks in American Indian teen moms and their infants
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Image courtesy HHS Office on Women’s Health Pregnant, American Indian teens receiving the home-based Family Spirit intervention -- lessons on parenting and maternal drug abuse prevention and life skills, delivered...
Regular marijuana use by teens continues to be a concern
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Continued high use of marijuana by the nation's eighth, 10th and 12th graders combined with a drop in perceptions of its potential harms was revealed in this year's Monitoring the...
New Bath Salts Resource Available from NIDA
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A new resource on “bath salts,” an emerging family of drugs containing one or more synthetic chemicals, is now available on NIDA’s website: drugabuse.gov. Reports of severe intoxication and dangerous...
A Functional Network of Glial Cells in the Mouse Brain is Needed for Reinstatement of Cocaine Seeking Behavior
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According to National surveys, there were 1.5 million current cocaine users in the United States in 2011. Unfortunately, and in spite of the tremendous health burden, there is currently no...
Brain Region Involved in Computing Reward Values “On the Fly”
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A new NIDA study in rats shows that the orbitofrontal cortex, a brain region involved in motivation and drive, is vital to using previous learning experiences to compute the current...
NIDA announces 2012 SCOR Awards for research on gender differences
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NIDA has awarded grants to Yale University, the Medical University of South Carolina, and the University of Minnesota to explore sex differences in drug addiction. These three grants are part...
New online resources for opioid prescribers now available on NIDA’s website
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New training materials for health providers who prescribe or counsel patients about opioids for pain relief, are now available on NIDA’s website. The two courses, entitled Safe Prescribing for Pain...
New research stresses potential health dangers of “bath salts”
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3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) NIDA research published in today’s Neuropsychopharmacology shows that MDPV, a synthetic chemical commonly found in the drugs referred to as “bath salts,” is potentially more dangerous than cocaine...
Good Behavior Game wins 2012 Mentor International Best Practice in Prevention Award
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Denver classroom plays the Good Behavior Game (Images courtesy Addiction Science & Clinical Practice) The American Institutes for Research in Washington, DC, is the 2012 Mentor International Best Practice in...
Special journal edition focuses on substance abuse issues impacting American Indians/Alaska Natives
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ADA Special Edition focuses on AI/AN communities The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse recently published a special edition devoted to NIH-funded research in American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities...
NIDA launches new tool for parents: Family Checkup: Positive Parenting Prevents Drug Abuse
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As part of National Substance Abuse Prevention Month, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has launched Family Checkup, an online resource that equips parents with research-based skills to help...
On-site HIV testing increases life expectancy in substance abusers and is cost effective
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An NIH-funded study shows that on-site rapid HIV testing has the potential to increases life expectancy for substance abuse treatment patients newly diagnosed with HIV in a cost effective way...
NIDA accepting proposals to create mobile app that helps patients take medications as prescribed
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NIDA seeks to develop and test a prototype mobile/tablet technology-based application to provide a low-cost, highly personalized, interactive patient-centric medication adherence tool that improves upon currently available mobile technology-based medication...
Study finds combined dopamine dysfunction in drug-addicted, schizophrenic patients
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MRI showing the brain’s striatum (Image courtesy Dr. Anissa Abi-Dargham, Columbia University & New York State Psychiatric Institute) Dopamine release in one area of the brain’s striatum is increased in...
White House Drug Policy Office and National Institute on Drug Abuse Unveil New Training Materials to Combat National Prescription Drug Abuse Epidemic
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Today, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) launched a new online learning tool which will provide training for healthcare providers...
Researchers Pinpoint a New Target for Opioid Pain Relievers Without Side Effects
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Drugs that act on various opioid receptors in the brain have proven invaluable for treating pain and remain mainstays in pain relief. But all opiate drugs studied to date have...
NIH-funded study links long-term marijuana use, especially when started during adolescence, with decreased IQ and impaired cognitive function
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NIH-funded research shows that long-term marijuana is associated with impaired intellectual functioning, especially if usage starts during the teen years. Over 1,000 study participants were given neuropsychological tests in early...
Combined medication shows promise for treating cocaine addiction
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NIDA-funded research in rats shows that using a combination of buprenorphine and naltrexone can reduce cocaine intake without producing opioid dependence -- a promising step toward an effective medical treatment...
New dates. National Drug Facts Week begins Jan. 28, 2013
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The third annual National Drug Facts Week will be held Jan. 28 through Feb. 3, 2013, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health...
NIDA supports development of combined anti-heroin and HIV vaccine
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Dr. Gary R. Matyas has been selected the 2012 recipient of the NIDA Avant-Garde Award for Medications Development. Matyas proposes to develop an effective, safe and easily manufactured combination anti-heroin/HIV...
Prevention of HIV Spread Focus of NIDA's 2012 Avant-Garde Awards
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The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, today announced the recipients of the 2012 Avant-Garde Award for HIV/AIDS Research. The three scientists, Drs...
Cocaine Hydrolase Encoded in Viral Vector Blocks the Reinstatement of Cocaine Seeking in Rats for 6 Months
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A potential approach to treating cocaine addiction (or overdose) involves a naturally occurring enzyme called butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), which has the ability to metabolize, or convert, cocaine into other compounds via...
Odds of quitting smoking affected by genetics
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Genetics can help determine whether a person is likely to quit smoking on his or her own or need medication to improve the chances of success, according to research published...
NIH selects 11 Centers of Excellence in Pain Education
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The National Institutes of Health Pain Consortium has selected 11 health professional schools as designated Centers of Excellence in Pain Education (CoEPEs). The CoEPEs will act as hubs for the...
Optogenetics project takes top NIDA Addiction Science Award
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A project that maps dopamine circuits in the prefrontal cortex through optogenetic manipulation was given top honors in this year’s annual Addiction Science Awards at the 2012 Intel International Science...
Study provides clues for designing new anti-addiction medications
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Scientists are now one step closer to developing anti-addiction medications, thanks to new research that provides a better understanding of the properties of the only member of the opioid receptor...
National Inhalant Prevention Coalition to highlight dangers of helium
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The National Inhalant Prevention Coalition, with support from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration ( SAMHSA) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse ( NIDA), will hold a...
Novel Cocaine Vaccine Linked to a Disrupted Adenovirus Gene Transfer Vector Blocks Cocaine Psychostimulant and Reinforcing Effects
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A promising approach in the treatment of drug addiction is immunotherapy—using vaccines to provoke an immune response to a drug and thereby prevent it from entering the brain, where it...
Cocaine-induced cortical microischemia in the rodent brain: clinical implications
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One of the most serious medical risks of cocaine abuse is stroke due to the drug’s disruption of blood flow in the brain. However, until now, neuroimaging techniques to study...
Repressive LTR nucleosome positioning by the BAF complex is required for HIV latency
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A treatment called Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy, or HAART, has proven very effective at suppressing HIV. However, in a very small number of infected T-cells the virus remains latent and...
NIDA creates easy-to-read website on drug abuse
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A new, easy-to-read website on drug abuse designed for adults with a low reading literacy level (eighth grade or below) was launched today by the National Institute on Drug Abuse...
Self-Control Deficits Linked to Drug Abuse Precede Drug Exposure
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The results of a study just published in the journal Science indicate that people addicted to cocaine have abnormalities in areas of the brain involved in self-control that appear to...
New NIDA resource helps families navigate addiction treatment options
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A new resource, Seeking Drug Abuse Treatment: Know What to Ask, will help individuals and families struggling with addiction ask the right questions before choosing a drug treatment program. It...
Cigarette and alcohol use at historic low among teens
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Cigarette and alcohol use by eighth, 10th and 12th-graders are at their lowest point since the Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey began polling teenagers in 1975, according to this year's...
Painkiller Abuse Treated by Sustained Buprenorphine/Naloxone
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People addicted to prescription painkillers reduce their opioid abuse when given sustained treatment with the medication buprenorphine plus naloxone (Suboxone), according to research published in yesterday's Archives of General Psychiatry...
Teen musicians in drug treatment win 2012 GRAMMY® experience
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Two teens with powerful stories about their experience in drug treatment have been awarded the top distinction in the MusiCares® and GRAMMY Foundation's® Teen Substance Abuse Awareness through Music Contest...
NIH study examines nicotine as a gateway drug
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A landmark study in mice identifies a biological mechanism that could help explain how tobacco products could act as gateway drugs, increasing a person’s future likelihood of abusing cocaine and...
FDA and NIH announce joint study on tobacco use and risk perceptions
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health today announced a joint, large-scale, national study of tobacco users to monitor and assess the behavioral and health...
NIH to fund development of K-12 neuroscience education programs
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Eight investigators across the United States will receive funding over the next five years to develop innovative neuroscience education programs for K-12 students and their teachers. Activities described within some...
NIDA Avant-Garde-Medications Development Award winners announced
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Scientists proposing to develop vaccines against methamphetamine and nicotine have been selected to receive NIDA's second Avant-Garde Awards for Innovative Medication Development Research. The two scientists, Dr. Thomas Kosten, of...
HIV/AIDS researcher David Ho wins NIDA's 2011 Avant-Garde Award
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Dr. David Ho The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, announced today that Dr. David Ho of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center...
Second annual National Drug Facts Week begins Oct. 31st
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Teens and drug experts will connect for the second annual National Drug Facts Week, held Oct. 31 through Nov. 6. This week-long observance will bring together teens and scientific experts...
Scientists show how gene variant linked to ADHD could operate
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A study using mice provides insight into how a specific receptor subtype in the brain could play a role in increasing a person's risk for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The...
Moderate levels of secondhand smoke deliver nicotine to the brain
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Exposure to secondhand smoke, such as a person can get by riding in an enclosed car while someone else smokes, has a direct, measurable impact on the brain—and the effect...
Potential new target for smoking cessation without weight gain
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A new study uncovers a brain mechanism that could be targeted for new medications designed to help people quit smoking without gaining weight. This research, funded by the National Institute...
Altruistic decision making focus of NIDA's Addiction Science Award
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A study of what influences decision making on issues whose consequences will only be felt by future generations won first prize in the annual Addiction Science Awards at this year's...
NIH, MusiCares®, GRAMMY Foundation® announce 2011 Teen contest
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Today marks the launch of the second annual MusiCares® and GRAMMY Foundation® Teen Substance Abuse Awareness through Music Contest. Announced by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of...
NIDA Raises the Curtain on Addiction
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The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) announced today the launch of its Addiction Performance Project, an innovative continued medical education program designed to help primary care providers break down...
New Warm Line Helps Clinicians Tackle Patients' Substance Abuse
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A free, nationwide service was launched today to help primary care providers seeking to identify and advise substance-abusing patients. The service, Physician Clinical Support System for Primary Care (PCSS-P), offers...
Actress Blythe Danner Raises the Curtain on Addiction
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Actress Blythe Danner leads an impressive cast in the Addiction Performance Project, an innovative continuing medical education (CME) program for doctors and other health providers, next Saturday, April 16th at...
Analysis of opioid prescription practices finds areas of concern
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An analysis of national prescribing patterns shows that more than half of patients who received an opioid prescription in 2009 had filled another opioid prescription within the previous 30 days...
Mind games! NIH teaches kids about the power of the human brain
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Inquisitive students and their teachers from the Washington, D.C., area will explore the fascinating and multifaceted human brain at the 12th annual Brain Awareness Week celebration at the National Museum...
NIH-funded study shows early brain effects of HIV in mouse model
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A new mouse model closely resembles how the human body reacts to early HIV infection and is shedding light on nerve cell damage related to the disease, according to researchers...
NIH-funded study uses new technology to peek deep into the brain
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Changes within deep regions of the brain can now be visualized at the cellular level, based on research on mice, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health. Published...
Teen marijuana use increases, especially among eighth-graders
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WASHINGTON -- Fueled by increases in marijuana use, the rate of eighth-graders saying they have used an illicit drug in the past year jumped to 16 percent, up from last...