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	NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow to Discuss New Data Showing Similarities in the Processes Underlying Craving for Food and Drugs

For Release February 7, 2007

News Briefing and Symposium at AAAS Annual Meeting in San Francisco

At the 2007 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a component of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Nora D. Volkow will take part in a symposium featuring world-renowned neuroscientists presenting the recent advances in brain-imaging that have revolutionized our understanding of addiction as a chronic disease. The addiction symposium is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, and will be preceded by an AAAS news briefing highlighting key speakers and findings.

Dr. Volkow will discuss the possible commonalities between drug addiction and obesity. She will compare studies on the brain dopamine responses in addicted subjects to those that had previously been found in food-deprived subjects. Her remarks will highlight the similarities in the responses of the dopamine system of an addicted person and that of a healthy control under conditions of food deprivation.

NEWS BRIEFING:	The news briefing will feature brief presentations followed by a Q&A session. Thursday, February 15, 2007 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time AAAS Briefing Room, Nikko Ballroom III Third floor Hotel Nikko, San Francisco, CA
SYMPOSIUM:	Friday, February 16, 2007 8:30 - 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time Hilton San Francisco, Ballroom Level, Continental Ballroom 6 Bio sketches of the panelists and speaker abstracts are available at: http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/pubaf/pr/addictionSymposium.asp
CONTACT:	For onsite interviews with Dr. Nora Volkow, call Sharan Jayne at 202 365-5646. Prior to the conference, she can be reached in the NIDA offices at 301 594 6141

The National Institute on Drug Abuse is a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIDA supports most of the world's research on the health aspects of drug abuse and addiction. The Institute carries out a large variety of programs to ensure the rapid dissemination of research information and its implementation in policy and practice. Fact sheets on the health effects of drugs of abuse and further information on NIDA research can be found on the NIDA web site at http://www.drugabuse.gov.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) - The Nation's Medical Research Agency - includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov

For more information about any item in this Release Contact:

Jeff Levine or Stephanie Older
301-496-6145
media@nida.nih.gov
Main Press Office:
301-443-6245

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The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) , a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Questions? See our Contact Information. Last updated on Thursday, May 14, 2009.