Reviews to Read

Science-Based Actions Can Help Address the Opioid Crisis.

Reviews To Read – November 29, 2018. This commentary on the opioid crisis was written by two NIDA IRP investigators (clinical investigator David Epstein and preclinical investigator Yavin Shaham), along with former Clinical Director Markus Heilig. It challenges misconceptions about the nature of the crisis, and it suggests solutions that are–as the authors say–“probably not… [Read More]

Cannabinoid disruption of learning mechanisms involved in reward processing

Reviews To Read – August 28, 2018. The increasing use of marijuana, its derivatives, and synthetic cannabinoids for medicinal and recreational purposes has increased interest in understanding the addictive potential of this class of molecules. Studies show that nearly 1 in 10 marijuana users will eventually show signs of dependence on the drug, which is… [Read More]

Context-induced relapse after extinction versus punishment: similarities and differences.

Reviews To Read – June 14, 2018. This review, which is part of a special issue of Psychopharmacology on “Extinction” summarizes recent research on similarities and differences in the neuronal mechanisms of context-induced relapse after extinction-imposed abstinence (the classical model) versus context-induced relapse after punishment-imposed abstinence (the new model).

Discovery and development of varenicline for smoking cessation

Reviews To Read – April 3, 2018. from the Addiction Biology Unit Quitting smoking is challenging. The recent development of varenicline (Chantix®) for smoking cessation is a successful story. In this article, we review the strong theoretical rationale, major findings in preclinical and clinical studies with varenicline, and post-market surveillance. We also discuss current major… [Read More]

Misuse of Novel Synthetic Opioids: A Deadly New Trend.

Reviews To Read – March 1, 2018. The United States is experiencing an epidemic of opioid overdose deaths. A major factor in this crisis is the increasing availability of potent opioid drugs, including fentanyl and novel synthetic opioids (NSOs). NSOs include various analogs of fentanyl and newly-emerging non-fentanyl compounds which stimulate mu-opioid receptor proteins in… [Read More]

Compulsive Seekers: Our take. Two Clinicians’ Perspective on a New Animal Model of Addiction

Reviews To Read – January 3, 2018. From the NIDA IRP Real World Assessment, Prediction and Treatment Unit. In this invited commentary, Bill Kowalczyk and I weighed in on a new rat model of addiction developed by Chiara Giuliano in Barry Everitt’s lab at the University of Cambridge. Like other recently developed models of addiction,… [Read More]

Preclinical Studies of Cannabinoid Reward, Treatments for Cannabis Use Disorder, and Addiction-Related Effects of Cannabinoid Exposure

Reviews To Read – November 20, 2017
Panlilio, Leigh V; Justinova, Zuzana
Neuropsychopharmacology. 2017 Aug 28.
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