Addiction often isn’t about chasing pleasure—it’s about escaping pain. Researchers at Scripps Research have discovered that a ...

According to the World Health Organization, over 3 million people die each year because of alcohol. It also contributes to ...

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 ...

The study, published in Biological Psychiatry: Global Open Science, found the effect occurs in the paraventricular nucleus of ...

Extreme instances of stress can cause lasting changes to the brain itself. This could leave some people more vulnerable to addiction, a University of Mississippi study concludes. The study's insight ...

Make no mistake, addiction is a neurological brain disorder. When the subject of addiction comes up, people often lean on ...

For years, addiction was seen as a matter of personal failure—a bad habit or a lack of discipline. People believed those who struggled with substance abuse could stop if they simply wanted to. But ...

The study builds on growing genetic research into cannabis use, as policymakers grapple with the risks and benefits of the drug’s soaring popularity.

Addictive personalities aren't real, but addiction is. Genetics, environment, and trauma are some factors that can contribute ...

Many studies over the past 25 years have shown that high-sugar and other highly pleasurable foods —often foods that are ultraprocessed —act on these brain networks in ways that are similar to other ...

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 ...