NIDA Notes Articles: November 2011

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Resting Brain Studies Shed New Light on Vulnerabilities

November 2011
Individuals with weak signaling in a nicotine-sensitive brain circuit were more vulnerable to nicotine dependence than those with stronger signaling, according to a study conducted while the subjects’ brains were in a resting state. A second resting-state study finds that the same circuit appears to mediate dependence associated with a genetic risk factor for smoking.

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NIDA Recognizes Developer of a New Business Model for Science

November 2011
Dr. Redonna K. Chandler of NIDA receives the Institute's 2011 Innovator Award for developing a method that fosters collaboration and data sharing on various studies of HIV in criminal justice populations.

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Girls More Likely Than Boys to Use Ecstasy

November 2011
Lifetime ecstasy use is more prevalent among adolescent girls than among adolescent boys, according to an analysis of 2002–2008 data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

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NIDA's Drug Abuse Research Advances Science as a Whole

November 2011
NIDA Director Dr. Nora D. Volkow summarizes instances where discoveries with broad implications for human health arose from scientists seeking answers to addiction problems.

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New Class of Regulators for Addiction Genes

November 2011
New studies show that microRNAs, snippets of RNA implicated in a wide variety of biological processes, are involved in promoting and inhibiting cocaine addiction. The findings could pave a new path for the development of anti-addiction therapies.

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Nanotechnology Powers Smart Skin Patch

November 2011
An in vitro test demonstrates the potential of a programmable skin patch that will enable physicians to tailor transdermal medication doses to match patients' fluctuating needs.

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Molecular Alterations of DNA Contribute to Persistence of Memory

November 2011
In a new series of studies tracing the molecular events that occur in the brain as memories are formed and preserved, researchers find that certain epigenetic changes may promote vulnerability to relapse.

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Disruption of Neuron Production in Adult Rats Increases Cocaine Taking

November 2011
Drug abuse may diminish production of new neurons in the brain’s hippocampus and thereby increase vulnerability to drug addiction.

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Good-Bye, Paper

November 2011
NIDA Notes becomes an All-Web publication in 2012. Issue 2 of Volume 24 will be the last print issue.

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