Mental health experts are nearly unanimous in endorsing the disease model of addiction. Alcoholism (now alcohol use disorder) was declared a disease in 1956 by the American Medical Association, and ...

For years, addiction was seen as a matter of personal failure—a bad habit or a lack of discipline. People believed those who struggled with substance abuse could stop if they simply wanted to. But ...

Scientists identify the protein DeltaFosB as the "master switch" that rewires the brain's memory and reward circuits, driving chronic cocaine addiction and relapse.

This short chapter summarizes some of the key discussions concerning how drug abuse is viewed in the society and the implications of those views. These discussions occurred throughout the committee's ...

New research suggests the weight-loss medications could be powerful tools in tackling substance use disorders.