Addiction Research
Articles Related to Addiction Research
- Injection Drug Users Have Higher Rate of Drug Dependence than Non-Injectors
A new study shows that drug users who inject their drugs are in greater need of treatment for abuse of these substances than those users who do not inject. The study was conducted by researchers at RTI, an International Research institute.
- Sweet Cravings, Tobacco and Alcohol Abuse: A Connection Emerges
Tobacco use, a tendency for alcoholism and having a strong sweet tooth – researchers now believe there may be a connection.
Tobacco has been a significant cause of death and serious health problems among women, especially in terms of certain cancers and diseases that occur more frequently than men. Compared to men that smoke, women may have faster-moving cases of lung cancer, heart disease and other cancers.
- New Study Pinpoints Impulse Control Center in the Brain
A new study from researchers at Queen’s University has discovered that impulsive behavior—which plays an important role in disorders such as addiction and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder—can be improved with training that incorporates specific changes in the brain.
- Mice Can Synthesize Their Own Morphine
Traces of morphine in urine samples have been considered a clear proof of drug use or the consumption of food containing poppy in the past. Now, a study by a team of scientists from the Institute of Environmental Research at TU Dortmund and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St Louis, Missouri, proved for the first time that mice—and probably humans and other mammals—can produce their own morphine in their bodies.
- Studying the Separate and Joint Effects of Alcohol and Tobacco on the Brain
A new study has found that alcohol abuse elevated the expression of a distinct set of genes in the brain’s nucleus accumbens (NAC) and ventral tegmental area (VTA), while nicotine blunted this effect in the VTA. The NAC is a core region of the mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic system and is interconnected with the VTA and the prefrontal cortex. The mesocorticolimbic system is thought to be central to the reinforcing effects of many drugs and plays an important role in addiction.
- Cocaine Overdose Deaths Increase in Warmer Temperatures
The number of New Yorkers who die of cocaine overdose appears to go up when the temperature surpasses 75 degrees, a new study suggests. The findings, reported in the journal Addiction, suggest that relatively hot days may increase cocaine users’ vulnerability to the drug’s potentially fatal effects.
- Anterior Cingulate Cortex Activity May Indicate Risk for Alcohol Dependence
Previous research has found that activation of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is associated with risk factors for alcohol use disorders (such as low alcohol effects and positive alcohol expectations) among adolescents. This study used a spatial working-memory task to examine ACC activity among adults, finding that alcohol-dependent (AD) participants had a greater activation of the dorsal ACC (dACC) when compared to light and heavy social drinkers. Results will be published in the May 2010 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.
- Report Reveals High Cost of Untreated Substance Abuse Disorders in Prison System
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA) released a comprehensive report on the cost and consequences of untreated substance abuse disorders in the nation’s correctional system, entitled “Behind Bars II: Substance Abuse and America’s Prison Population.”
- Study Links Dopamine to Drug Abuse and Compulsive Behavior
A new study has found that people with high levels of the hormone dopamine in the brain, and low sensitivity to it, tend to be greater risk takers and may be more prone to addictive behavior, drug abuse, and gambling, a study has found.