Addiction & Recovery

After surviving a series of benders, neural circuits get locked into a firing pattern that compels alcohol seeking    

While millions of people are comfortable seeking help from a psychologist, psychiatrist, or other counselor, others—maybe you included—would rather pass a kidney stone than make an appointment with a therapist. This week, the Savvy Psychologist helps you (or someone you love) get over 5 common myths and fears about therapy

The speedy method makes potent painkilling opioids, but it still must be fine-tuned to make it commercially viable

Researchers isolated a bacterial enzyme that could break down nicotine before smokers get the buzz that keeps them coming back for more. Christopher Intagliata reports

The “divine sage,” Salvia divinorum, is a promising new scientific tool

Needle exchanges, which exist in 34 states, are gaining wider acceptance as health officials nationwide have expressed alarm at the surge in opiate abuse

We spend so much time on standardized testing and measuring learning ability that we don’t track how much we’re developing the key competencies that enable us to imagine what could be

Today would have been my mentor's 80th birthday. Happy Birthday Nick and thanks for showing me that mentors really do matter.

Heroin overdose deaths in the United States nearly quadrupled between 2002 and 2013, fueled by lower costs as well as increased abuse of prescription opiate painkillers

The ethical threat posed by Adderall and other drugs that improve motivation

If violent criminal tendencies peak during the teen years and seldom extend to midlife, should we still lock people up and throw away the key?

People who smoke pot and drink are twice as likely to do both at the same time than to do just one, with the combo associated with bad decision-making; and chronic pot smokers who had not indulged in a month were still more likely to have faulty memories than were nonsmokers. Erika Beras reports