A new study has found that early drug and alcohol use is associated with lower levels of educational achievement. A study of 6,242 twins shows a link between fewer years of schooling and the onset of drinking before age 14, report researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Palo [...]
The chronic use of cocaine can lead to structural changes in the brain that make the user more susceptible to addiction. Researchers at the University of Buffalo and Mount Sinai School of Medicine found that chronic cocaine use reduces the expression of a protein known to regulate brain plasticity in mice, which drives structural changes [...]
The risk of teens misusing prescription pain relievers appears to peak around age 16, earlier than many experts thought, according to a new study by Michigan State University researchers. The results, based on nationwide surveys of nearly 120,000 U.S. teens, suggest prevention programs may need to be introduced in childhood and early adolescence, said James [...]
The anti-smoking drug varenicline (Chantix) was found to significantly reduce alcohol use in a group of heavy-drinking smokers in a study at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco. “Alcohol abuse is a huge problem, and this is a big step forward in identifying a potential new treatment,” [...]
Researchers from Norway have developed a new way to measure Facebook addiction called the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale. Headed by Cecilie Schou Andreassen, Ph.D., at the University of Bergen, the Facebook Addiction research project has found that the symptoms of Facebook addiction resemble those of addictions to drugs and alcohol. The Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale is [...]
A new brain imaging study has found an individual’s willingness to work hard is strongly influenced by the levels of dopamine in three specific areas of the brain. In addition to shedding new light on how the brain works, the research, published May 2 in the Journal of Neuroscience, could have important implications for the [...]
New research suggests successful parenting of a teenager needs to include keeping track of their peers — and even the peer’s parents. While the task may seem daunting, researchers discovered parents were impressed that they could not only influence their own children, but they can also have a positive influence on their children’s friends as [...]
New research shows that age-related loss of grey matter in the brain is greater in people who are chronic users of cocaine. Scientists at the University of Cambridge scanned the brains of 120 people who were about the same age and had similar IQs. Half were dependent on cocaine, while the other 60 had no [...]
A new study suggests the way in which the brain is wired in some people may make them more impulsive and more likely to experiment with drugs. In the largest imaging study of the human brain ever conducted — involving nearly 1,900 14-year-olds — scientists discovered a number of previously unknown neural networks. Researchers lead by psychologists [...]
Researchers believe that individuals with a record of binge eating may also present additional addiction-like behaviors. Substance abuse is a common complement to binge eating, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. Investigators believe this finding may help to illuminate factors that promote substance abuse, addiction, and relapse. “Drug addiction persists as a major [...]
