Scientists Identify Brain Circuits Related to the Initiation of Termination of Movement Sequences in NIH-Supported Study
In humans, throwing a ball, typing on a keyboard, or engaging in most other physical activities involves the coordination of numerous discrete movements that are organized as action sequences. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health and the Gulbenkian Institute in Portugal have identified brain activity in mice that can signal the initiation and termination of newly learned action sequences...
Study Associates Alcohol Advertising with Brand Preference among Underage Drinkers
Underage alcohol use is a pervasive and persistent problem in the United States and many other countries, with serious health and safety consequences, often resulting from binge drinking. Given the significant amount of alcohol advertising to which young people are exposed in virtually all types of media, scientists have sought to learn whether and how such advertising influences underage drinking...
NIAAA Director's Report on Institute Activities to the 128th Meeting of the National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
FY 2010 President's Budget Request for NIAAA - Acting Director's Statement before the Senate Subcommittee on Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations
Statement by Kenneth R. Warren, Ph.D., Acting Director National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism National Institutes of Health Department of Health and Human Services Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: I am pleased to present the President’s Fiscal Year 2010 Budget request for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), of the National Institutes of Health...
Receptor Variant Influences Dopamine Response to Alcohol
A genetic variant of a receptor in the brain’s reward circuitry plays an important role in determining whether the neurotransmitter dopamine is released in the brain following alcohol intake, according to a study led by researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health. Dopamine is involved in transmitting the euphoria...
Scientists Find Genes That Influence Brain Wave Patterns
Scientists have identified new genes and pathways that influence an individual’s typical pattern of brain electrical activity, a trait that may serve as a useful surrogate marker for more genetically complex traits and diseases. One of the genes, for example, was found to be associated with alcoholism. A report of the findings by researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol...
Medications Development Program
Treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD) includes behavioral treatments such as mutual support groups and individual therapy, as well as pharmaceutical treatments. Often these are used in combination. Currently, there are three Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medications for the treatment of AUD: Disulfiram (Antabuse®) In 1949, disulfiram became the first drug approved to treat alcoholism. The drug works by...
Underage Drinking Research Initiative
About the Underage Drinking Research Initiative The Underage Drinking Research Initiative (UDRI) is a key program of NIAAA. The goal of this initiative is to better understand the factors that compel youth to begin drinking, continue drinking, and progress to harmful use, abuse, and dependence. We seek to understand and address underage drinking within the context of overall development, and...
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
Combine Study Data Access
A Multisite Trial of Combined Pharmacotherapies and Behavioral Interventions (COMBINE) for Alcohol Dependence Description The COMBINE Study is the largest pharmacotherapy trial conducted for Alcohol Use Disorder in the United States. This clinical trial evaluated the efficacy of naltrexone and acamprosate, both alone and in combination, in the context of medical management with and without Combined Behavioral Intervention (CBI). Sponsor...
COGA Distribution Agreement
NIAAA/COGA DATA AND BIOMATERIALS DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT-- WAVE I and WAVE II WHEREAS, the national Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism ("NIAAA") pursuant to its public health mission to identify and characterize the genetic basis of alcohol-related disorders supports research projects in which there is collection by scientific investigators and their relatives; WHEREAS, anonymous blood samples obtained from Wave I and/or...
Center for Inherited Disease Research
The NIAAA has joined the Center for Inherited Disease Research (CIDR) to assist investigators who are currently conducting, or who have an interest in initiating studies to identify genes that contribute to alcoholism and alcohol-related disorders. The CIDR provides a variety of genotyping and statistical genetics services for both human and animal studies to identify genes that contribute to human...
Gene Array Technology Center (GATC) for Alcohol Research
GENE EXPRESSION CORE FACILITY for ALCOHOL RESEARCH The NIAAA is supporting a gene microarray technology resource center to assist investigators who are currently conducting, or who have an interest in initiating, gene expression studies that address alcohol-related disorders. The purpose of the Gene Expression Core facility is to provide microarray slides, and technical and bioinformatics services, to investigators for the...
Guidelines for Conducting Alcohol Research
The NIAAA National Advisory Board and Extramural Advisory Board established a core of guidelines for conducting alcohol research. These guidelines include recommendations on: Clinical Trial Regulations, Policies, and Guidance – How to conduct clinical trials NIAAA Guidance for Conducting Alcohol Administration Studies with Human Participants – Considerations, requirements, and expectations for researchers engaging in alcohol administration human subject research. Guidelines...
Laboratory of Epidemiology and Biometry
Much of the Laboratory of Epidemiology and Biometry’s work revolves around the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). The Laboratory has already conducted the first two waves of the survey, and it is now designing the third wave and analyzing data from the first two. NESARC is based on the criteria of alcohol dependence and abuse used...
Laboratory of Liver Diseases
Mission Statement: The mission of the Laboratory of Liver Diseases is to investigate the immunological aspects and molecular pathogenesis of alcoholic and nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases, and to explore novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of these disorders. Bin Gao MD. , PhD, Chief Laboratory of Liver Diseases National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism National Institutes of Health 5625...
Laboratory of Molecular Physiology
Office of the Chief Section on Cellular Biophotonics Section on Transmitter Signaling The Section on Cellular Biophotonics studies how protein complexes are formed and maintained in living cells, and how these complexes regulate cellular functions. In particular, the Section is interested in the way that protein complexes regulate synaptic function by responding to an influx of calcium ions. The Section...
Laboratory of Neurogenetics
LNG - Office of the Chief The Section of Human Neurogenetics The major paradigm of LNG is the study of inter-individual variation and its relation to behavior. The aim is to relate genotype to complex behavioral phenotypes, with the goal of identifying vulnerability and protective alleles responsible for the substantial heritability of alcoholism. To accomplish this, LNG studies intermediate phenotypes...