Past NIDA Notes Articles

Announces the 2007 Smissman Award from the American Chemical Society to Dr. Kenner Rice, NIDA, for significant contributions to fundamental knowledge in medicinal chemistry.

Presents an update on NIDA’s Southern African Initiative, a program that aims to build research capacity and infrastructure in the area of addiction, particularly drug-related HIV transmission.

Reports on results from a study showing that men and women with alcohol use disorders are more likely to report nonmedical use of prescription drugs than people who don't drink at all.

Reviews a journal supplement that compiles studies on drug-related HIV transmission, with a focus on injection drug use, in 16 different localities across the globe.

Reports on an animal study finding that links anabolic steroids to brain changes in adolescent female mice, changes that can potentially lead to steroid abuse.

Presents highlights of a study indicating that exposure to morphine during adolescence may increase sensitivity to the drug during adulthood.

Reports data on the prevalence of substance use among college students with ADHD, comparing those who received ADHD treatment with those who did not.

Describes research that has led to the development of a new tool, a new radiotracer, for studying the neurobiology of depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and stimulant abuse.

Highlights data on the risky sexual behaviors of patients at a sexually transmitted disease clinic who had a substance abuse disorder as compared to those without a substance abuse disorder.

Describes the role of the Division of Clinical Neuroscience and Behavioral Research in NIDA’s drug abuse and addiction research plan.

Reports on two studies indicating that orexin, a neuropeptide that stimulates eating and regulates wakefulness, also fosters animals' drug seeking and craving responses to drugs.

Reports on the work of addiction researchers who are learning how acute and chronic cocaine exposure regulates certain genes, based on knowledge from developmental and cancer biology.

Describes research investigating a naturally occurring brain chemical that shows early promise as a treatment for addiction in animal studies.

Describes an NIH-wide obesity task force and research plan and explores some of the links between addiction and compulsive eating.

Reports patterns and trends in inhalant use among adolescents based on an analysis of data from a 2002-2005 national survey on drug use and health.

Describes research on a vaccine developed to facilitate smoking cessation by blocking nicotine penetration into the brain.

Reports on the work of scientists who have linked impulsiveness and risk-taking among adolescents to immaturity of the brain region called the orbitofrontal cortex.

Announces updates to research reports on MDMA/ecstasy and steroids and a new report on HIV/AIDS that provide the latest available information on drugs and drug-related topics.

Describes a study comparing Staged Care Intervention, a combination treatment for smoking cessation, among smokers in outpatient treatment for depression and a control group.

Describes investigations to advance the development of potential drug abuse relapse prevention agents by targeting specific receptors of the neurochemical serotonin.

Summarizes animal studies indicating that an antipsychotic drug, trifluoperazine, prevents morphine tolerance in mice.

Reports on research that successfully traced rats’ liking for sweets to a 1-cubic millimeter site in the medial shell of the nucleus accumbens in the brain.

Reports findings from a clinical trial investigating the effectiveness of naltrexone as a supplement to nicotine replacement therapy for smoking cessation.

Summarizes a study on the use of incentives to encourage abstinence among methadone maintenance patients in outpatient programs.

Reports on data that reviewing the benefits of addiction treatment among abstinent men as compared with those who continued to abuse cocaine.

Reports on a study to investigate the use of methadone maintenance for heroin addicts wait-listed for a treatment program to encourage their likelihood to enroll in the program.

Reports on the research underway to identify gene variations associated with nicotine addiction and the interaction of genetic makeup, experiences, and surroundings to addiction.

Presents results of a pilot study to investigate the safety and efficacy of a new long-lasting injectable formulation of naltrexone to treat of heroin addiction in an outpatient setting.

Announces the recipient of a 2006 award for innovation in research on drug addiction and alcoholism, Dr. Yavin Shaham, and describes his research which focused on the stress-induced drug use relapse.

Describes a meeting of researchers and clinicians who gathered to discuss the challenges in balancing appropriate pain treatment with efforts to minimize prescription opioid misuse.

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.