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WSU researchers discover how a neural circuit drives relapse after opioid use

Washington State University researchers have discovered how a neural circuit – or a connection between two brain regions – drives relapse after opioid use, a finding that could lead to more effective treatments for opioid use disorders.

9 Dec 2025

Study reveals how brain protein KCC2 influences reward learning

A new finding from researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center shows that the learning process of associating cues with rewards can be altered by increased or decreased activity of a specific protein in the brain.

9 Dec 2025

Supportive marriages may shape appetite control through oxytocin and the brain–gut axis

Supportive marital relationships are associated with lower BMI, fewer food addiction symptoms, higher oxytocin, stronger frontal brain responses to food cues, and favorable gut tryptophan metabolites. These coordinated social, neural, hormonal, and gut pathways suggest a plausible biological link between emotional support and healthier eating regulation.

8 Dec 2025

NYS Medical Cannabis Program reduces chronic pain patients' reliance on opioids

Adults with chronic pain who participated in New York State's (NYS) Medical Cannabis Program were significantly less likely to require prescription opioids, according to a new study published today in JAMA Internal Medicine and led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System.

8 Dec 2025

New study to explore how screen time affects babies and their families during first 1001 days of life

Professor James Wolffsohn and Dr. Amy Sheppard from Aston University School of Optometry are part of a new study which will explore how screen time affects babies and their families during the first 1001 days of life.

5 Dec 2025

Bacterial enzyme linked to heart complications in pneumonia

Pneumonia is a disease that burdens the healthcare system with more that 1.2 million emergency room visits each year and more than 41,000 adult deaths in the United States.

4 Dec 2025

Emotional support in marriage associated with lower BMI and fewer food cravings

Strong social relationships, particularly high-quality marriages, may help protect against obesity by influencing a complex communication system between the brain and gut, according to new research by UCLA Health.

4 Dec 2025

Study shows glial cells actively shape addictive responses to nicotine

Nicotine addiction remains one of the most persistent public health challenges worldwide, driven by changes in the brain that reinforce repeated use and make quitting extremely difficult.

4 Dec 2025

'Dry January' can lead to meaningful physical and psychological improvements

With the new year on the horizon and resolutions brewing, more people are saying cheers to a booze-free January, a choice that might come with some real health benefits and, ultimately, help some people cut back for good.

3 Dec 2025

Mindfulness can help reduce problematic smartphone use

With more than four billion people around the globe owning a smartphone, researchers are now looking at ways to reduce a growing public health concern-problematic smartphone use.

3 Dec 2025

11 genetic loci that shape impulsive decision-making

Researchers identify distinct genetic loci involved in delay discounting and how these variants are involved in physical and psychiatric health outcomes.

3 Dec 2025

Why calling your Instagram use an addiction can make the problem worse

The addiction label for Instagram use is often misleading, reducing users' control and increasing self-blame, despite rare clinical addiction symptoms.

1 Dec 2025

Most Instagram users mistake habitual scrolling for addiction, study finds

Instagram users may overestimate the extent to which they are addicted to the platform, according to research conducted on 1,204 US adults published in Scientific Reports.

27 Nov 2025

Ultrasound technique modifies human reward learning for the first time

The nucleus accumbens is a tiny element of the human brain triggered when we experience something enjoyable, and used to help us learn behaviours that lead to rewards.

27 Nov 2025

Genetic signals reveal why erectile dysfunction develops and who is most at risk

This multi-ancestry genomic study identifies key genetic loci underlying erectile dysfunction and shows that ED risk is shaped by both cardiometabolic and substance use–related genetic pathways. Using EHR-linked data, the researchers uncover SIM1-related mechanisms, modest PRS performance, and bidirectional genetic links with obesity, diabetes, and addiction traits.

25 Nov 2025