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NIDA Notes keeps you up to date on research advances in the causes, consequences, prevention, and treatment of drug abuse and addiction and HIV/AIDS.

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Prevention Program Reduces Substance Use By Participants' Friends

Prevention, Published January 2017

The Strengthening Families Program for Youth 10-14 (SFP10-14), an evidence-based intervention that reduces teen substance use, also reduced participants’ friends’ substance use. Two factors that accounted for the nonparticipants’ reductions were less time spent by nonparticipants with their participating friends without adult supervision and improvements in nonparticipants’ attitudes toward substance use. The findings suggest that researchers should consider the potential for diffusion of benefits in designing and implementing prevention programs.

Nonmedical Treatment for Cocaine Addiction Shows Promise in Pilot Trial

Treatment, Published November 2016

Patients who received transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) were more likely to abstain from cocaine than patients who received medications for symptoms associated with abstinence. Researchers concluded that TMS appears to be safe and its efficacy as a treatment for cocaine addiction deserves to be evaluated in a larger clinical trial.

Messages Shore Up Support for Making Life-Saving Anti-Overdose Medication Widely Available

Treatment, Published October 2016

Public health messages can increase public approval for making naloxone legally available to friends and relatives of opioid users to administer if an overdose occurs.

Why Do People Lose Control Over Their Cocaine Use?

Basic Science, Published September 2016

Researchers monitored the activity of two types of neurons in mice: “urge” neurons, which promote feelings of reward and repeating behaviors that have produced rewards, and “control” neurons, which dampen those feelings and inhibit behavior.

Quinine as a Tracer for Medication Adherence

Treatment, Published September 2016

Patients who don’t take their medications as prescribed often put themselves at risk for problems including misdiagnoses, complications, and death. A study suggests that adding low doses of quinine to patients’ medications could provide an inexpensive, reliable, and safe method of monitoring whether patients are taking their medications as directed.

A Case for Studying Brain Asymmetry in Drug Use

Basic Science, Published September 2016

A new study proposes that research into the discrete roles played by the brain’s two hemispheres could yield important and actionable insights into drug use and addiction. Evidence indicates that two risk factors for substance use, impulsivity and craving, primarily reflect activity in the right and left hemispheres, respectively.

Regular Marijuana Use Is Associated With Differences in Brain Gray Matter and Connectivity

Basic Science, Published September 2016

A brain imaging study strongly suggests that regular users of marijuana have smaller orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) volumes. Such a deficit could make it more difficult to change counterproductive behaviors, including drug use.

Slow-Release Amphetamine Medication Benefits Patients With Comorbid Cocaine Addiction and ADHD

Treatment, Published August 2016

Treatment with an extended-release stimulant medication plus cognitive behavioral therapy was associated with reductions in cocaine use and in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms in patients with both disorders.

Study Questions Role for Marijuana in Teen Users’ IQ Decline

Public Health, Published August 2016

In a recent study, teens who used marijuana lost IQ points relative to their nonusing peers. However, the drug appeared not to be the culprit.

Narrative of Discovery: Can Magnets Treat Cocaine Addiction? Part 2

Narrative of Discovery, Published July 2016

During investigations into using transcranial brain stimulation (TMS) to treat cocaine abuse, two projects take diverging paths. One researcher moves to the next stage, while another is forced to cut his trial short. 

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