Remarkable scientific progress over the past five decades has helped us develop knowledge of how drugs of abuse induce pleasure, reinforce use, and lead to the compulsive self-administration we call ...

What if a single choice could hijack your brain’s wiring, rewriting your behavior, judgment, and even your ability to survive? The human brain is an essential organ in the body, responsible for ...

Methamphetamine addiction has a way of looping back on itself. A rush of pleasure pulls you in, cravings follow, and the brain learns that the drug is the fastest route to reward. Yet scientists still ...

Methamphetamine doesn't just spike levels of the pleasure-inducing hormone dopamine in the reward pathways of the brain—it also provokes damaging brain inflammation through similar mechanisms.

Ana Clara Bobadilla receives funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. Everyday human behavior is guided and shaped by the search for rewards.

For decades, Americans have been told a simple story about addiction: taking drugs damages the brain—and the earlier in life children start using substances, the more likely they are to progress ...

A shaky hand, a racing heart, a wave of dread; alcohol withdrawal can feel like your body has turned against you. For many people with alcohol use disorder, those early days without alcohol bring ...