Addiction & Recovery

A study of mental functioning in alcoholic patients found that they performed less well than a control group in choosing the correct punchline for a joke.

A lack of dopamine receptors in a specific brain region could trigger increased compulsions, such as drug addiction

Smokers who sustain damage to the part of the brain called the insula have their addiction to nicotine virtually vanish. The finding could point the way to better treatments for nicotine addiction and addiction in general.

The insula, an area of the brain largely ignored by researchers, may hold the key to breaking harmful addictions

Gene searches move from alcoholism to intoxication