Abstinence News and Research

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Abstinence is a voluntary restraint from indulging a desire or appetite for certain bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to abstention from sexual intercourse, alcohol or food. The practice can arise from religious prohibitions or practical considerations.

Neuroscientists discover specific brain circuit that triggers cocaine relapse in mice

Relapse is a common feature of addiction recovery – two in three patients treated for substance use disorder in the United States relapse within 12 months, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association.

18 Oct 2021

Johns Hopkins Medicine awarded NIH grant to explore the impacts of psilocybin on tobacco addiction

Johns Hopkins Medicine was awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to explore the potential impacts of psilocybin on tobacco addiction.

18 Oct 2021

6 months to live or die: How long should an alcoholic liver disease patient wait for a transplant?

The night before Brian Gorzney planned to check into rehab for alcohol use, he began vomiting blood. First at 2 a.m. Then 5. And again at 11.

12 Oct 2021

Study: Women smoke fewer cigarettes than men but find it more difficult to quit

A study of more than 35,000 smokers has found that women smoke fewer cigarettes than men but are less likely to quit. The research is presented at ESC Congress 2021.

25 Aug 2021

Contingency management at end-of-treatment helps to overcome opioid use disorder

The opioid epidemic remains a U.S. public health crisis and has only worsened since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, with opioid deaths accounting for 69,000 of 93,000 overdose-related deaths in 2020, according to provisional drug overdose data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in July 2021.

5 Aug 2021

Physical pain induces relapse of alcohol consumption, research shows

The study has also shown changes in an area of the brain related to motivation for drug intake, and in a second experiment they have shown that the kappa-type opioid receptor (a protein) is key to causing these animals to relapse.

27 Jul 2021

Novel two-component intervention may help prevent unintended pregnancy among women using opioids

Increases in maternal opioid use have led to an almost doubling in the number of babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) in the U.S. in the past 10 years.

16 Jul 2021

Canadians with a history of drug dependence more likely to have mental illness, finds study

New research published online in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction found that Canadians with a history of drug dependence are much less likely to have flourishing mental health and are more likely to have mental illness.

14 Jul 2021

KU researchers investigate how parental substance use is associated with child neglect

Substance use disorder has long been considered a key factor in cases of parental neglect. But new research from the University of Kansas shows that such substance abuse does not happen in a vacuum.

12 Jul 2021

Targeted intervention could help promote smoking cessation among dual users

E-cigarettes spark many concerns, especially when it comes to youth vaping. However, emerging evidence suggests that e-cigarettes can be a helpful tool in smoking cessation.

25 Jun 2021

New focus on adverse impact of male factors in assisted reproductive treatments

The adverse impact of male factors in assisted reproductive treatments was brought into a clear and disturbing focus at the 10th Congress of the Asia Pacific Initiative on Reproduction.

17 May 2021

New cocaine and oxycodone biobanks provide investigatory therapeutic targets for addiction

A major hurdle to developing new and effective treatments for drug addiction is better understanding how exactly it manifests itself before, during and after chronic use.

26 Apr 2021

Marshall University researcher awarded $399,600 NIH grant to study sex differences in brain development

W. Christopher Risher, Ph.D., an assistant professor of biomedical sciences at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, has been awarded a $399,600 grant from the National Institutes of Health for his research on the differences in brain development between males and females.

12 Apr 2021

Naloxone can save lives but stigma is preventing its use among newly abstinent opioid users

Opioids are the main driver of fatal drug overdoses in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, resulting in 46,802 deaths in 2018, usually because the person stops breathing.

26 Mar 2021

High-strength nicotine e-cigarettes can help adults with schizophrenia quit smoking

A new study in Nicotine & Tobacco Research, published by Oxford University Press, finds that the use of high-strength nicotine e-cigarettes can help adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders quit smoking.

16 Mar 2021

Study highlights the 'clear benefit' of using e-cigarettes daily to quit smoking

A new study published Tuesday 10 March, No Smoking Day, from King's College London highlights the 'clear benefit' of using e-cigarettes daily in order to quit smoking, and supports their effectiveness when compared to other methods of quitting, including nicotine replacement therapy or medication.

10 Mar 2021

New book focuses on relationship skills for people in addiction recovery

People in addiction recovery and their loved ones understand all too well how addiction can damage their relationships. But recovery programs do not always give people the relationship skills needed to address those issues.

7 Mar 2021

Noninvasive brain stimulation restores behavioral flexibility in cocaine-exposed rats

A major impediment to treatment of substance use disorder (SUD) is a loss of behavioral flexibility, whereby one's judgment is impaired such that their actions continuously result in negative consequences.

16 Feb 2021

Daily caffeine consumption can change the gray matter of the brain

Coffee, cola or an energy drink: caffeine is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive substance. Researchers from the University of Basel have now shown in a study that regular caffeine intake can change the gray matter of the brain. However, the effect appears to be temporary.