Nicotine addiction remains one of the most persistent public health challenges worldwide, driven by changes in the brain that reinforce repeated use and make quitting extremely difficult. For decades, ...

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. Meth is ...

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 ...

Ramirez is an associate professor of psychological and brain sciences at Boston University. When philosophers imagined the ship of Theseus, they asked: Can a vessel that has all its planks replaced ...

When you feel powerless against a craving or addiction, mindful observation is an effective tool to stop the urge in its ...

People with substance use disorder—whether addicted to alcohol, cocaine, heroin, or nicotine—share a strikingly similar pattern of abnormal brain connections, particularly within the brain’s reward ...

A sweeping review of over 8,000 participants reveals how cannabis use during the teenage years may reshape the developing brain, raising urgent questions about long-term risks and early intervention.

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. Meth ...