Past NIDA Notes Articles

Reviews a report from the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine that discusses ways to improve the quality of health care among people with mental health and substance abuse disorders.

Summarizes an animal study of the neural changes in the amygdala portion of the brain that occur as a result of cocaine exposure followed by withdrawal of the drug.

Reports on an analysis comparing three types of addiction treatment programs: methadone maintenance programs, long-term residential programs, and nonmethadone programs.

Summarizes a study that analyzes factors associated with the risk of drug addiction among 19- to 21-year-old Hispanic women born in the United States as compared with immigrants.

Highlights statistics on the number of reports of gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) use intoxication in California from 1999 to 2003.

Discusses the work of NIDA’s Division of Basic Neuroscience and Behavioral Research, the Institute’s locus for studies into the fundamental brain mechanisms underlying drug abuse and addiction.

Describes animal studies that suggested exposure to the drug during gestation or adolescence may cause lasting alterations in reward and motivation circuits.

Presents an overview of the research underway to investigate medication and behavioral therapies for co-occurring disorders.

Reports on a study that documenting changing emotional and neurobiological responses to cocaine with successive doses during a single session of drug taking.

Reports on the work of researchers who used brain images to correlate cocaine-addicted patients' regional brain responses to drug cues with their outcomes in subsequent treatment.

Describes evidence supporting the view that developmental differences in brain systems that use the neurotransmitter dopamine underlie age differences in susceptibility to drug abuse.

Reviews a journal supplement that compiles information on drug abuse research in the Hispanic population.

Reviews a training DVD that presents dialectical behavior therapy skills being taught by deaf clinicians to deaf consumers as an approach to improve deaf people's access to behavioral health care.

Describes an inpatient study investigating the effectiveness of sustained-release methylphenidate as a treatment for cocaine-addiction patients with ADHD.

Summarizes research suggesting a physiological difference as the explanation for African-Americans' reported low tolerance for pain.

Summarizes findings from a 10-year study that monitored smoking and progress to other drugs among youth that found ethnicity to be an influential factor.

Highlights a publication that outlines 13 research-based principles of successful treatment of drug abusers in the criminal justice system.

Presents findings from a clinical trial comparing ultrarapid, anesthesia-assisted detoxification with detoxification by traditional methods among patients addicted to heroin.

Presents highlights of a study suggesting that compared with methadone, office-based buprenorphine treatment attracts individuals who have less extensive addiction histories.

Highlights data from an annual national survey of youth showing a pattern of rising nonmedical use of sedatives among high school seniors.

Highlights two studies suggesting significant associations between marijuana smoking and respiratory disease.

Highlights research on the effects of steroid use on the brain and the rest of the body, and stresses the need to educate young people about the serious health risks associated with its use.

Reports on a study investigating the use of incentives in the form of prizes to motivate outpatients to stay in behavioral therapy and remain drug free.

Reports on a study of adolescents addicted to opioids who responded better to buprenorphine than clonidine in a clinical trial in which all patients also received behavioral therapy.

Describes a series of experiments that have added to evidence that a brain enzyme controls key memory processes that link drug experiences, the surroundings in which they take place, and the urge to repeat them.

Announces the winners of the 10th Annual PRISM Awards, including Walk the Line, a film portraying the life of singer Johnny Cash and his battle with drug addiction.

Introduces four new members to NIDA’s National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse, including Drs. Warren K. Bickel, Ellie E. Schoenbaum, and Marina E. Wolf, and Ms. Janet Wood.