Scientists identify the protein DeltaFosB as the "master switch" that rewires the brain's memory and reward circuits, driving chronic cocaine addiction and relapse.

When considering the drugs most likely to cause former addicts to repeatedly relapse, opioids, cocaine, and methamphetamine ...

Drug addiction carries an extremely high risk of relapse, as cravings can be reignited by minor stimuli even long after one has stopped using. Previously, this phenomenon was attributed to a decline ...

Preclinical studies in animals have already shown that GLP-1 drugs can reduce reward-seeking behavior. Early clinical work in humans has begun to hint at similar effects. A randomized trial of ...

Cocaine addiction isn’t simply a failure of willpower — it’s the result of lasting biological changes in the brain.

Why someone becomes addicted to a substance has long baffled scientists and philosophers. Now leading researchers are getting the clearest picture yet of how addiction works in the brain and body.

“I don’t understand why he just can’t stop abusing alcohol.” Turns out that addiction is a whole lot more complicated than just saying “no.” Although the stigma of addiction as a moral failing ...

Health Affairs' Rob Lott interviews Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health, to discuss addiction as a brain disorder, treatments for ...

Researchers identify PV neurons in the prefrontal cortex as the gatekeepers of drug addiction relapse, offering a new target for precision treatment.

Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest sci-tech news updates. However, a recent study, published in Science Advances, indicates that the vagus nerve, which bridges the brain and gut, also plays a ...

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Emma Fenske, DO, Oregon Health & Science University (THE CONVERSATION) Addiction is ...