Trauma is a primary risk factor for substance use disorder later in life

Alcohol use disorder is the most common addiction in the US

This comprehensive overview from the Addiction Center uses recent data from SAMHSA’s National Survey to examine the 10 most common substance dependencies in the United States. It ranks addictions from alcohol (affecting 28.3 million Americans) to barbiturates, while highlighting key trends, risks, and societal impacts.

Chronic drug use can cause neurological changes in the brain

Neuroscientist Judy Grisel breaks down the biology of addiction, examining how drugs hijack the brain’s natural reward system and create lasting neural changes. The physiological and neurological impacts of chronic drug use require a multifaceted treatment approach.

PTSD is a long-lasting mental disorder linked to past traumatic events

Posttraumatic stress disorder is a mental health condition arising from traumatic events with four key symptoms: intrusive memories, avoidance behavior, negative moods and thoughts, and changes in emotional and physical reactions.

Traumatic childhood experiences heighten the risk of developing schizophrenia

Clinically termed as "adverse childhood experiences," events such as physical or mental abuse or the death of loved ones have repeatedly been linked to an increase in rates of developing schizophrenia later in life. The reasons behind this link remain under investigation.

How trauma gets ‘under the skin’

A study examining the muscle function of older adults who have at least one adverse childhood experience (ACE) suggests that trauma digs itself into muscle cells. Participants who reported childhood trauma were found to have lower maximum levels of cellular energy than people who reported fewer or no ACEs. Such compromised mitochondrial function "doesn't bode well," as it relates to a variety of health and age-related outcomes.

Drug tolerance and withdrawals are consequences of overloading dopamine circuits

Addictive substances or behaviors will typically flood our brains with more dopamine than usual. In response to the overstimulation, our brains will decrease the number of available dopamine receptors. This results in the need for more stimulus for the same response (tolerance) and a rise in negative feelings when the stimulus is absent (withdrawal).

How did the pandemic affect mental health?

Read this research brief to learn more about why heightened mental health and substance use concerns persist three years after the outbreak of COVID-19. According to a recent survey, the vast majority of American adults view the nation as facing a...

Why 'spacing out' or dissociating may help reduce trauma awareness

Dissociation may have developed as a defense mechanism in the brain to help navigate intense emotional or physical situations by providing out-of-body experiences that put distance between the mind and the environment. However, in about 1.1% and 1.5% percent of the general population, a severe form of this separation can produce alternate identities, or alters.

Can brain scans help with processing trauma?

MRIs and brain monitoring therapies are becoming increasingly popular for those looking to process trauma and address mental health conditions, including PTSD and depression. This article details how these therapies quantify mental health, giving users another way to measure and manage their mental and emotional needs through brain mapping and other methods.

Why the human brain loves opioids

When opioids enter the brain, they dock in receptors, blocking electrical pulses such as those that communicate pain. They also trigger the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter tied to motivation and associated with stress relief.

Fame can trigger addictive, drug-like highs in the brain

Differences in the type of fame, such as movie stardom, sports, and internet virality, can produce varying degrees of dependence on individuals based on their age and background. Some individuals—particularly children—can develop drug-seeking behavior as they pursue continuous dopamine spikes if they lack an existing sense of fulfillment from elsewhere.

Veterans reported single dose of ibogaine improved TBI, PTSD, anxiety, and depression

Research published in 2024 on the Central African plant-derived drug included 30 male combat vets who received ibogaine treatment in Mexico. It reported significant reductions in multiple mental health conditions and no serious side effects. Other work, however, has shown the substance can cause fatal cardiac arrhythmias, killing at least 19 people between 1990 and 2008. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

What’s with the teen brain, anyway

In this video NIDA explores the intriguing similarities between the processes of brain development and computer programming. This analogy helps us understand why toxic environmental factors like drugs, bullying, or lack of sleep strongly affect a teenager’s life The information provided by this video can empower your children or students with information they need make better decisions.

Social support plays a critical role in recovery from addiction

This engaging TEDx talk from addiction researcher Jacki Hillios explores addiction recovery through a transformative lens and Phoenix Multisport—an innovative program helping people rebuild their lives through active lifestyles. By living out its core message that people are not defined by their disease, the program demonstrates the power of social support in recovery.

Traumatic brain injury is a leading cause of brain death—and TBIs are trending up

Traumatic brain injury-related deaths have generally increased between 2000 and 2023, growing from roughly 49,000 to more than 68,000 in 2023. Firearm-related suicide is the most common cause of TBI-related deaths in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People also experience TBIs from falls, motor vehicle crashes, or assaults.

Prolonged Grief Disorder has certain recognizable risk factors

This official diagnosis is characterized by intense, daily symptoms of grief a year after the loss of a loved one among adults and faster—around at least six months—for kids and teens. Factors that put people at increased risk of this disorder include being single, attachment anxiety, violent or unnatural death, low education, low income, and multiple losses, among others.

From prescriptions to street drugs: Opioids trajectory across America

Exclusive data obtained by The Washington Post from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows how individual counties moved through three waves of the opioid crisis, each wave paving the way for the next. Between 2011 and 2017, the drug responsible for the majority of overdose deaths shifted from prescription pills to heroin to fentanyl. Together, oxycodone, hydrocodone, heroin, and fentanyl have been major drivers in declining life expectancy in the US.

Can music alter your memories?

You’re familiar with music’s ability to transport you to a past experience, but new research suggests that music can even alter how you remember your past experiences. A team of psychology researchers and music experts recently published a study that demonstrates how music can help shift our emotional recollection of a memory. Read to learn more about the study’s findings and how it could influence therapy practices.

USA Today asked readers about their grief—and received more than 700 responses

The submissions included one moving story of two women whose sons died by drug overdose. The duo wrote that they found each other in a support group and decided to navigate their respective difficult situations by starting a podcast together called "Two Moms with Two Dead Kids," which focused on what life was like in the years following the deaths of their children.

LSD fueled a countercultural movement before evolving into a potential therapeutic

As the use of recreational psychedelics became common, authorities were quick to claim LSD had lasting adverse effects, criminalizing the drug and halting scientific study for decades. Over time, LSD's reputation shifted from a potential source of enlightenment to a dangerous drug that could dim a person's future, and back to a possible therapeutic compound.

Memory disorders disrupt the brain's ability to make, store, or recall memories

These disorders stem from reversible issues like vitamin deficiencies or irreversible causes such as stroke or dementia. Only one type of dementia—familial Alzheimer’s disease—is directly inherited and accounts for about 20% of Alzheimer’s cases.

Consuming true crime media can increase stress and anxiety

Consuming true crime media can activate one's sympathetic nervous system, which controls the fight-or-flight response. Staying in this heightened state of vigilance can lead to stress-related illnesses, including hypertension, and mental conditions, including depression and anxiety. Additionally, people who actively consume crime news, whether they consider it to be entertainment or educational in nature, report being more fearful of crime, regardless of actual crime rates.

Learn about the neuroscience and psychology of why we crave comfort foods

The term was coined in 1966, when psychologist Joyce Brothers suggested humans turn to food associated with the feelings of comfort from their childhoods when experiencing emotional distress. Since then, studies have shown that the familiarity, reliability, and convenience of certain foods from one's upbringing can become tied to feelings of nostalgia.

About 12.5% of US adults experience a phobia in their lifetime, a diagnosis that hinges on the intense fear interfering with daily life and persisting for at least six months.

Understanding how Billie Holiday's traumatic childhood led her to drugs

At 10 years old, the jazz singer was raped and then returned to House of the Good Shepard under protective custody. Her rapist was eventually convicted, but the court still sent her to an all-girls Catholic reform school. Jake Brennan, the host of the Disgraceland podcast, believes those early events led Holiday to the transcendent world of performing, but that it also led her to the escape of drugs.

Smell is a robust memory cue for individuals with Alzheimer's disease

Odor is more effective than both visual and verbal cues for triggering autobiographical recall in Alzheimer's disease, according to 2021 research.

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states

Recent research found that the brain doesn't seem to massively rewire following amputation—upending earlier beliefs about the cause of phantom limb pain.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

Fireworks-related ER visits are on the rise—in 2024, they increased by 52% as compared to the prior year.

Roughly 43 million US borrowers owe roughly $1.7T in student debt, the second-largest source of consumer debt behind mortgages.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

Astronauts have repaired genetic damage in space using CRISPR—a molecular tool that can make precise changes to DNA and is used in single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses.

Urushiol, the oily toxin in poison ivy, can remain allergenic on clothing for years.

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

After her fellow cult members tried to kill her with an LSD-infused hamburger, one member of the Manson Family, the murderous cult led by Charles Manson, decided to testify against the group's leader.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.

The US first hosted the World Cup in 1994, a tournament that lives in soccer infamy for its poor planning and the murder of Colombian player Andres Escobar, who'd accidentally scored on his own net.

Watch how viruses like Ebola can spill over from animals to humans—and vice-versa.

Children are now three times more likely to say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up than an astronaut, with some even attending 'YouTube camps' that teach kids how to create content for the platform.

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

Objects can be 3D printed with light by projecting 2D computerized tomography (CT) scans onto rotating cylinders of resin, which solidify upon exposure.

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

Hear 50 years of iconic hip-hop samples, the genre's foundational looped tracks

While atoms are normally made of protons, neutrons, and electrons, exotic ones have been built with antimatter—alternate versions of normal matter that live for fractions of a second and are about a billion times as rare.