All Articles Tagged As: addiction

New brain cells implicated in machinery of cannabinoid signaling (3/31/2008)

The brain cells called astrocytes, and not just neurons, are sensitive to the substances called cannabinoids-the active chemicals in marijuana. ...> Full Article

Emotional 'bummer' of cocaine addiction mimicked in animals (3/15/2008)

Cocaine addicts often suffer a downward emotional spiral that is a key to their craving and chronic relapse. While researchers have developed animal models of the reward of cocaine, they have not been able to model this emotional impact, until now. ...> Full Article

Brain chemistry ties anxiety and alcoholism (3/8/2008)

Doctors may one day be able to control alcohol addiction by manipulating the molecular events in the brain that underlie anxiety associated with alcohol withdrawal, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine and the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center report in the March 5 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience. ...> Full Article

Smokers' brains recognize potential negative consequences but fail to act (3/5/2008)

Addicted people persist with drug use despite the potential negative consequences of their actions or "what might happen." Using a simple stock market game, researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston show that the brains of chronic smokers recognize "what might happen (fictive outcomes)," but do not act on that brain signal. The report appears online today in the journal Nature Neuroscience. ...> Full Article

Brain Stress System Presents Possible Treatment Target for Alcohol Dependence (3/1/2008)

A brain circuit that underlies feelings of stress and anxiety shows promise as a new therapeutic target for alcoholism, according to new studies by researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). ...> Full Article

Brain Circuitry That Drives Drug-seeking Compulsion Identified (2/8/2008)

In experiments with rats, researchers have identified the change in brain circuitry that drives development of a compulsion to seek drugs, even when that compulsion is self-destructive. The researchers demonstrated the function of the circuitry by selectively switching off drug-seeking in the animals. They said their findings show the key role of the brain region, known as the striatum, which is a region activated by reward. ...> Full Article

Video games activate reward regions of brain in men more than women (2/5/2008)

Allan Reiss, MD, and his colleagues have a pretty good idea why your husband or boyfriend can't put down the Halo 3. In a first-of-its-kind imaging study, the Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have shown that the part of the brain that generates rewarding feelings is more activated in men than women during video-game play. ...> Full Article

Marijuana Withdrawal As Bad As Withdrawal From Cigarettes (1/26/2008)

Research by a group of scientists studying the effects of heavy marijuana use suggests that withdrawal from the use of marijuana is similar to what is experienced by people when they quit smoking cigarettes. Abstinence from each of these drugs appears to cause several common symptoms, such as irritability, anger and trouble sleeping - based on self reporting in a recent study of 12 heavy users of both marijuana and cigarettes. ...> Full Article

Aggression as rewarding as sex, food and drugs (1/15/2008)

New research from Vanderbilt University shows for the first time that the brain processes aggression as a reward - much like sex, food and drugs - offering insights into our propensity to fight and our fascination with violent sports like boxing and football. ...> Full Article

Mood Disorders Predict Later Substance Abuse Problems (1/10/2008)

Mania symptoms and bipolar disorder II more likely to lead to substance abuse than depression ...> Full Article

Study Examines Why Americans are Addicted to Sports (12/27/2007)

Ticket prices for professional sporting events are lower than conventional economic theory would predict. One possible explanation for this anomaly is that lower ticket prices encourage attendance at future games, thanks to habit formation or "addictive" behavior among fans. A new study published in Contemporary Economic Policy examines this behavior among American and Korean baseball fans, and finds that this theory successfully predicts this behavior in American (but not Korean) baseball fans. It suggests that this habit formation may be rooted in the basic interaction of culture and human nature. ...> Full Article

Pre-natal alcohol exposure shapes sensory preference, (12/16/2007)

Two studies help explain why teens exposed to fetal alcohol are at high risk for heavy drinking and perpetuating a family cycle of alcohol addiction ...> Full Article

Mental illness and drug addiction may co-occur due to disturbance in the brain's seat of anxiety and fear (12/9/2007)

Study finds rats with amygdalas damaged at birth showed abnormal adult behavior related to fear plus greater cocaine sensitivity ...> Full Article

Researchers Discover Possible Markers For Mental Illness (12/7/2007)

Researchers have discovered natural genetic differences that might help predict the most effective antipsychotic drugs for particular patients with mental disorders such as schizophrenia, Parkinson's and drug addiction. ...> Full Article

Got Sugar? Glucose Affects Our Ability to Resist Temptation (12/4/2007)

New research from a lab at Florida State University reveals that self-control takes fuel-- literally. When we exercise it, resisting temptations to misbehave, our fuel tank is depleted, making subsequent efforts at self-control more difficult. ...> Full Article

Strong drugs without the addiction (11/24/2007)

Two University of Adelaide pharmacologists working with one the world's leading neuroscientists have helped pave the way for the development of new pain-killing drugs that are not addictive. ...> Full Article

2.2 Million NIH Grant to Develop Drugs to Suppress Cocaine Cravings (11/21/2007)

The University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy has received a $2.2 million federal grant to develop therapeutics to suppress the cravings of cocaine addicts. ...> Full Article

Genes, Brain Chemistry May Dictate Nicotine Cravings (11/13/2007)

Individual brain chemistry and genes could be key to understanding why some people become addicted to nicotine and why the chemical compound's effects appear to diminish at night, University of Colorado at Boulder researchers say. ...> Full Article

Too much self-control can overwhelm brain (11/2/2007)

Study shows that self-control is limited resource ...> Full Article

Gambling and increased sexual desire linked to restless leg syndrome (10/29/2007)

Study finds evidence of compulsive behavior associated with treatment ...> Full Article

Drug-craving Brain Region In Rats Discovered (10/29/2007)

Chilean researchers have identified a region of the brain -- the insular cortex -- that plays a role in drug craving in amphetamine-addicted rats, according to a report published in Science. This finding ultimately may help support the development of new therapies to treat drug addiction as well as certain behavioral side effects of medications. ...> Full Article

Dealing with Stress as a Treatment for Alcohol Abuse (10/28/2007)

A researcher is initiating a study of 'mindfulness-based stress reduction,' a technique often used in behavioral medicine for stress reduction but not before as an adjunct in the treatment of alcohol use disorders. ...> Full Article

Impulsivity May Especially Vex Alcoholics With Antisocial And Borderline Personality Disorders (10/26/2007)

Impulsivity is a problem common to many different personality and psychiatric disorders, including alcoholism. A new study that looked at impulsivity among alcoholic subpopulations has found that, one, the inability to delay gratification may be a vulnerability marker for alcoholism, and two, certain inhibitory-control issues may be specific to antisocial and borderline personality disorders. ...> Full Article

Insulin's Brain Impact Links Drugs And Diabetes (10/18/2007)

Insulin, long known as an important regulator of blood glucose levels, now has a newly appreciated role in the brain. ...> Full Article

People Are Programmed To Love Chocolate, Study Finds (10/15/2007)

For the first time, scientists have linked the all-too-human preference for a food -- chocolate -- to a specific, chemical signature that may be programmed into the metabolic system and is detectable by laboratory tests. The signature reads 'chocolate lover' in some people and indifference to the popular sweet in others, the researchers say. ...> Full Article

How Stress Supercharges Learning (10/6/2007)

Whether it's a hot stove or a snarling dog, an emotional encounter supercharges learning in a way that indelibly imprints those experiences in memory. Now researchers have pinpointed a molecular pathway in the brain that underlies stress-induced learning enhancement. Their studies establish how the stress hormone norepinephrine boosts learning by strengthening connections between neurons. ...> Full Article

New genetic research into nicotine addiction shows promise for personalized treatment (9/19/2007)

Whether a smoking-cessation drug will enable you to quit smoking may depend on your genes, according to new genotyping research from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). The study, published in the September issue of the journal Biological Psychiatry, found that the enzyme known to metabolize both the smoking cessation drug bupropion and nicotine is highly genetically variable in all ethnicities and influences smoking cessation. ...> Full Article

Brain research shows why long-term drug users just can't say no (8/23/2007)

Groundbreaking research from the University of Melbourne has shed new light on why long term drug users find it hard to say no, despite dire consequences to their health. ...> Full Article

What Exactly Is 'Internet Addiction' And What Is The Treatment? (8/21/2007)

Is your first craving in the morning for your computer mouse? Do you obsessively check email in the middle of the night? ...> Full Article

Two Nicotine Addiction Puzzles Explained (8/16/2007)

The stranglehold of nicotine addiction leads to more than four million smoking-related deaths each year. Scientists at the California Institute of Technology have now explained two roots of that addiction. The discoveries may offer new hope not just for smokers, but eventually also for sufferers of Parkinson's disease, a debilitating movement disorder that affects some 40 million people worldwide. ...> Full Article

Does The Desire To Consume Alcohol And Tobacco Come From Our Genetic Makeup? (8/15/2007)

Alcohol and smoking can be harmful, if not deadly. While the desire for these substances can be due to environmental cues, genomic factors also play an important role. The etiology of these desires is multifactorial and a result of complex interactions with the environment. Adoption and twin studies have shown that the use of these substances is likely to be inherited. Such studies have provided evidence that one's sex can influence the genetic factors for alcohol and tobacco use. ...> Full Article

Females More Prone To Brain Damage From Alcohol Abuse (7/22/2007)

OHSU, VAMC study on mice shows more brain cells die in females than males ...> Full Article

It's In Their Genes: Study Of Twins Connects Smoking Addiction With Major Depression (7/20/2007)

Ever wonder why smoking and depression seem to go together? A Saint Louis University School of Public Health researcher finds the connection is genetic. ...> Full Article

New Findings On Drug Addiction And Abstinence (7/3/2007)

The fight against the dependence of psychoactive substances forms a gross challenge in the new century, and becomes a research "hot spot" for toxicology and psychology. Yet, one stumbling block on the way to the research progress lies in the precise description at the molecular level of the anomaly in the synaptic morphology and neuro-physiological mechanism taking place in the addictive process. ...> Full Article