Introduction

• Bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction...
• The effects of drug abuse are wide ranging and affect people of all ages...
• Among the health consequences of addiction is the transmission of HIV...
• Drug abuse costs the United States hundreds of billions of dollars...
  
  

What is Addiction?

• Research has revealed addiction to be a disease that alters the brain...
• Science has come a long way in understanding how drugs change the brain...
• Drugs of abuse change the brain, and new technologies are showing us how...
• We can now measure the brain’s response to drugs of abuse in real time...
• Addiction is similar to other chronic diseases...
• Addiction is a complex disease, influenced by a tangle of factors...
• Addiction usually begins in adolescence, making early prevention critical...
  
  

Why do People Abuse Drugs?

• Why would anyone abuse drugs?..
• Why do drugs make people feel good or feel better?..
• How are drugs able to affect brain chemicals?..
• Dopamine is a brain chemical involved in many different functions...
• How do neurons communicate with each other?..
• This slide shows how neurotransmission works specifically for dopamine (1)...
• This slide shows how neurotransmission works specifically for dopamine (2)...
• Natural rewards stimulate dopamine neurotransmission...
• But what happens when a person takes a drug?..
• Nearly all drugs of abuse increase dopamine neurotransmission...
• Other brain systems are also involved in drug abuse and addiction...
• Brain pathways affected by drugs of abuse:..
  
  

Drug Use Changes the Brain

• Prolonged drug abuse changes the brain in fundamental ways...
• Drug abuse changes both the structure of the brain and its functioning...
• Exposure to some drugs of abuse can change the structure of neurons...
• Repeated drug exposure also changes brain function...
• Methamphetamine abuse decreases dopamine transporter activity...
• The effects of these brain changes include impaired mental functions...
• Research has identified a number of brain circuits that are affected...
  
  

Prevention/Development

• NIDA’s large research portfolio is focused on three main areas:..
• Addiction is a developmental disease that usually begins in adolescence...
• Brain development continues throughout adolescence and into early adulthood...
• MRI Scans allow us to map the maturation of the brain...
• Adolescents’ brains are “wired” differently than adults...
• Do adolescent's brains react differently to substances of abuse?..
• Animal studies show a differential response to drugs of abuse...
• NIDA is supporting research about how to best prevent drug abuse...
  
  

Prevention/Genes, Environment, Comorbidity

• What factors suggest vulnerability to drug abuse and addiction?..
• The level of dopamine receptors in the brain can influence the effects of a drug...
• 40-60% of the predisposition to addiction can be attributed to genetics...
• Genome wide analyses are being used to identify novel candidate genes...
• What Other Biological Factors Contribute to Addiction—Comorbidity...
• Substance abusers experience higher rates of other co-morbid mental illnesses...
• Possible reasons that mental illnesses and substance abuse tend to co-occur include...
• Many environmental factors also contribute to a propensity to take drugs of abuse...
• How can the environment shape the response to drugs?..
• Scientific research has prompted notable shifts in attitudes toward drug abuse....
• Prevention messages can make a difference...
  
  

Treatment

• NIDA’s large research portfolio is focused on three main areas:..
• Addiction changes brain circuitry, making it hard to stop detrimental behaviors...
• Treatment is therefore essential...
• Addiction requires treatment that addresses its complexity...
• Treatment can work...
• NIDA is bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction...
• Research has led to the identification of potential medications for drug addiction...
  
  

Relapse

• Drug addiction, like other diseases requires long-term treatment...
• Relapse rates for drug addiction are similar to those of other chronic illnesses...
• Drug addiction resembles other chronic diseases in more ways than relapse rates...
• People do recover from drug abuse and addiction...
• Extended abstinence is predictive of sustained recovery...
• It takes time, but the brain can recover...
• Drug abuse treatment works and brings about reductions...
• Addiction treatment aims to help people achieve abstinence...
  
  

HIV/AIDS

• NIDA’s large research portfolio is focused on three main areas:..
• Drug Abuse and HIV/AIDS are intertwined epidemics...
• Injection drug use has contributed to nearly 1/3 of the cases of HIV in this country...
• HIV infection rates are converging in abusers who inject drugs and those who don't...
• While all racial/ethnic groups are affected by HIV/AIDS, not all are affected equally...
• Evidence shows that drug abuse can worsen HIV consequences in the brain....
  
  

International Program and Conclusion

• NIDA’s work with HIV/AIDS and drug abuse prevention has an international reach...
• Drug abuse is a global problem...
• NIDA’s international program makes significant contributions...
• Advance the science through research and erase the stigma through education...
• For more information...