Addictions

Sugar can be addictive

harminka — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 12:43:46 -0600

A Princeton University scientist will present new evidence today demonstrating that sugar can be an addictive substance, wielding its power over the brains of lab animals in a manner similar to many drugs of abuse.

Virtual world therapeautic for addicts

harminka — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:35:02 -0500

Patients in therapy to overcome addictions have a new arena to test their coping skills—the virtual world. A new study by University of Houston Associate Professor Patrick Bordnick found that a virtual reality (VR) environment can provide the climate necessary to spark an alcohol craving so that patients can practice how to say “no” in a realistic and safe setting.

Aussie neuroscientist tests addiction drug

harminka — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 10:28:53 -0600

UQ pharmacy graduate Dr Selena Bartlett is starting clinical trials of a new drug that could potentially curb addictions such as smoking, drinking, gambling even depression.

Hungry mothers risk addiction in their adult children

harminka — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 04:01:17 -0600

Babies conceived during a period of famine are at risk of developing addictions later in life, according to new research published in the international journal Addiction. Researchers from the Dutch mental health care organisation, Bouman GGZ, and Erasmus University Rotterdam studied men and women born in Rotterdam between 1944 and 1947, the time of the Dutch ‘hunger winter’.

Assembling jigsaw puzzle of drug addiction

harminka — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 02:43:27 -0600

Using an integrative meta-analysis approach, researchers from the Center for Bioinformatics at Peking University in Beijing have assembled the most comprehensive gene atlas underlying drug addiction and identified five molecular pathways common to four different addictive drugs. This novel paper appears in PLoS Computational Biology on January 4, 2008.

How opioid system control pain, reward, addictive behavior?

harminka — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 00:07:03 -0500

The opioid system controls pain, reward and addictive behaviors. Opioids exert their pharmacological actions through three opioid receptors, mu, delta and kappa whose genes have been cloned (Oprm, Oprd1 and Oprk1, respectively).

New assessment tool in gambling addiction applies equally for different races

harminka — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 02:28:06 -0500

With African-Americans and other minority groups having both problem and pathological gambling rates that are 2-3 times higher than Caucasian gamblers, accurate diagnosis is essential to treat gambling addiction," says Renee Cunningham-Williams, Ph.D., a leading gambling addictions expert and visiting associate professor of social work at Washington University in St. Louis.

Internet Addiction and New Standards for Its Treatment

harminka — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 00:56:04 -0500

TAU researchers aim to educate medical health professionals on net hazards at the workplace and in schools

Nicotinic receptors as targets for treatment of multiple addictions

harminka — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 07:45:30 -0500

For years, scientists have known that some people are biologically more susceptible to drug addiction than others, but they have only been able to speculate why.

New mechanism found for memory storage in brain

harminka — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 11:58:39 -0500

Our experiences –the things we see, hear, or do—can trigger long-term changes in the strength of the connections between nerve cells in our brain, and these persistent changes are how the brain encodes information as memory. As reported in Neuron this week, Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered a new biochemical mechanism for memory storage, one that may have a connection with addictive behavior.

Internet Addiction: Where It's A Problem

Armen Hareyan — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 20:26:22 -0500

Is spending too much time online a prevalent and damaging condition, or simply a bad habit among a select few? Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have taken an important step toward resolving the debate over whether compulsive use of the Internet merits a medical diagnosis.

Smokers quit after damage to brain region

harminka — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 03:36:24 -0600