On Thursday, May 14, 2026, the NIDA IRP Clinical Program welcomed representatives from the Office of the Lieutenant Governor. Aruna Miller and her staff received a tour of our facilities and learned about the cutting edge research we are conducting in the field of addiction medicine.
Hot Off the Press
VTA monosynaptic connections by local glutamate and GABA neurons and their distinct roles in behavior
Hot Off the Press – January 2026 Published in Nature Communications by Flavia Barbano and Marisela Morales et al. of the NIDA IRP Neuronal Networks Section. Summary This study demonstrates that the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a brain region central to motivation and reward, contains tightly organized local circuits that shape behavior in distinct ways…. [Read More]
Reviews To Read
Prospects of GLP-1 Therapies for Addiction and Mental Health Comorbidities-Quo Vadis?: A Review
Reviews To Read – February 2026 Published in JAMA Psychiatry by Mehdi Farokhnia and Lorenzo Leggio of the NIDA IRP Clinical Psychoneuroendocrinology and Neuropsychopharmacology Section. New medicines that mimic a natural gut hormone called GLP-1 have already changed how clinicians treat type 2 diabetes, obesity and related cardiometabolic consequences. Because some of the same brain… [Read More]
Featured Papers
Brain CB2 receptor: a new target in medication development for treating opioid use disorder in rodents
Featured Paper of the Month – July 2026
Published in Molecular Psychiatry by Omar Soler-Cedeño and Zheng-Xiong Xi, et al. of the NIDA IRP Addiction Biology Unit.
This study tested a novel compound, MRI-2594, to determine whether it could reduce opioid use and relapse-related behaviors in rats and mice.
