Some rats showed a decrease in addictive tendencies when researchers activated the pathway, while the behavior of others became more addictive when the pathway was inhibited.

A study in mice suggests serotonin release underlies the drug’s prosocial effects while dopamine mediates the rewarding properties that drive its potential for abuse.

Kamran Khodakhah, a researcher at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, explains the cerebellum's newly described role in addictive and social behaviors.

Children born to moms who smoked or ingested marijuana during pregnancy suffer higher rates of depression, hyperactivity, and inattention.

With a built-in supply of a powerful cocaine-chomping enzyme, the transplant might also curb addiction.

Lucemyra is the first non-opioid drug to be approved in the U.S. specifically for this purpose.

Sex-deprived males seek out alcohol.

Scientists are beginning to unravel the mechanisms behind the therapeutic effects of psychedelic drugs.

A newly discovered painkiller does not cause respiratory depression or addiction in mice and could be an alternative to frequently abused prescription medicines, researchers report.

A modified bacterial protein elicits a robust immune response against a cocaine-linked molecule in mice.

Long-term marijuana smokers have less gray matter in their orbitofrontal cortex than nonsmokers, but other brain circuits may compensate by increasing connectivity.

Developing nonaddictive drugs to combat pain

Is it possible to make a nonaddictive opioid painkiller?

Augmenting the action of a glutamate receptor in the brains of addicted rats helps prevent them from seeking cocaine during withdrawal, a study shows.

At the Society for Neuroscience conference, researchers present results linking the epigenome to heroin and cocaine addiction.

Researchers demonstrate the successful treatment of marijuana abuse in rats and monkeys.

The body’s own pain-quelling system may be at the root of chronic pain and symptoms of opioid withdrawal, according to a new study in mice.

Mice whose brains express the HIV-1 Tat protein show a heightened response to the drug and appear more vulnerable to relapse.

Just the flavor of beer is enough to boost dopamine in brain areas related to reward—especially in men with alcoholic relatives.