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National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

Alcohol and Your Brain: A Virtual Reality Experience
Welcome to Alcohol and Your Brain , an interactive activity for youth ages 13 and older to learn about alcohol’s effects on five areas of the brain. This educational experience shares age-appropriate messages through engaging visuals, informative billboards, and narration. Two versions of this activity are available. One is formatted for the virtual reality (VR) environment and the other in...
Section of Comparative Behavioral Genomics
Christina Barr, V.M.D., Ph.D., Acting Chief National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism National Institutes of Health 5625 Fishers Lane, Room 3S-32:MSC 9412 Bethesda MD 20892-9412 telephone: +1 301.496-8127 e-mail: cbarr@mail.nih.gov Christina Barr, V.M.D., Ph.D. is acting chief for the Section of Comparative Behavioral Genomics. Dr. Barr received her undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of Michigan, a Ph.D...

News Release

Dr. Kenneth J. Sher to deliver 22nd Annual Mark Keller Honorary Lecture at the National Institutes of Health
For Release
What: The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health, announces that Kenneth J. Sher, Ph.D., will deliver the 22nd Annual Mark Keller Honorary Lecture. Dr. Sher is a nationally renowned scholar, researcher, and mentor whose work has greatly advanced our understanding of the etiology and course of alcohol use disorder (AUD), particularly...

Announcement

NIAAA/HBO Documentary Risky Drinking spotlights Alcohol Use Disorder
NIAAA is proud to have collaborated with HBO on Risky Drinking , a documentary that premiered December 19 [website: www.hbo.com/documentaries/risky-drinking ]. Risky Drinking spotlights an important public health topic, Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), through the stories of four people whose drinking has profoundly impacted their lives. About 70 percent of American adults drink alcohol and, of those, nearly 1/3 will...
Alcohol Policy

General Alcohol Policy A combination of Federal, State, and local laws help shape the role alcohol plays in the United States, including how we: Manufacture alcohol Sell alcohol Decide who can drink alcohol Respond to alcohol-related problems The primary Federal law governing alcohol policy is the 21st Amendment, which repealed national prohibition. It also gives individual States control over: Whether...

Want to Reduce Stigma? Choose Your Words Wisely
We can help alleviate the stigma associated with alcohol-related conditions by consistently using non-pejorative, non-stigmatizing, person-first language to describe these concerns and the people who are affected by them. Keep in mind that some words that are commonly used in society, such as “alcoholic” and “alcohol abuse,” can be stigmatizing.
NIAAA Alcohol Treatment Navigator helps find quality treatment of alcohol use disorder
An important new online resource is now available to help people recognize and find high quality treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD), which affects more than 15 million adults in the United States. The NIAAA Alcohol Treatment Navigator helps individuals and their loved ones negotiate the often-complicated process of choosing treatment for alcohol misuse by telling them what they need...
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD): Prevention and Intervention

Bill Dunty, PhD; Elizabeth Powell, PhD; Tatiana Balachova, PhD; and Deidra Roach, MD NIAAA FASD Working Group Concept Clearance Purpose The purpose of this concept is to support research that advances interventions for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) and prevention approaches to reduce prenatal alcohol exposure and the incidence of FASD. Background Prenatal alcohol exposure is a leading preventable cause...

NIAAA Spectrum: Researchers harness power of magnets to study brain receptors

You may be familiar with how doctors use pictures from magnetic resonance imaging machines, better known as MRIs, to diagnose injuries and other health problems. But did you know that NIAAA scientists have another technology that harnesses the power of strong magnets to study receptors in the brain that could be targets for alcohol therapies? NIAAA’s Intramural Section on Nuclear...

Announcement

Adolescent Alcohol Activates Hippocampal Astrocytes in Adulthood
NIAAA-supported researchers at the Duke University and Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Centers continue to refine our understanding of how repeated exposure to alcohol during adolescence causes long-lasting structural and functional abnormalities in the brain. Earlier this year, Duke scientists led by Dr. Mary-Louise Risher looked at how alcohol affects the hippocampus, a region of the brain associated with memory and...
Alcohol and Other Substance Use Research Education Programs for Health Professionals (R25 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
Re-issue of PAR 19 207 Participating IC’s: NIAAA, NIDA Authors: Laura Kwako, NIAAA, Albert Avila, NIDA Purpose : The NIH Research Education Program (R25) supports research education activities in the mission areas of the NIH. The over-arching goal of this NIAAA/NIDA R25 program is to support educational activities that foster a better understanding of biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research on...

Advisory Council Minutes

NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL ON ALCOHOL ABUSE February 8–9, 2012
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The National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) convened for its 129th meeting at 5:00 p.m. on February 8, 2012, at the Fishers Lane Conference Center in Rockville, Maryland, in closed session for a review of grant applications, Merit Award nominations, and a Merit Award extension. The meeting recessed at 6:40 p.m. The Council reconvened in closed session...

LabTV Interview: NIAAA Intramural Research Program - Katie Kaugars

Katie Kaugars is a Post-bacc researcher at the National Institutes of Health in the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism. Katie is studying the genetics behind alcoholism, and how genes can contribute to the development of alcoholism. Katie works in the Laboratory of Behavioral & Genomic Neuroscience.

Advisory Council Minutes

Minutes of the 136th Meeting of the NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM Minutes of the 136th Meeting of the NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM June 4–5, 2014 The National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) convened for its 136th meeting at 5:00 p.m. on June 4, 2014, at NIAAA headquarters...

It's All in the Timing: College Drinking and Dating Violence Vary for Men and Women

It is no surprise that some college-age men and women drink heavily, and can be victims of dating violence as a result. But a recent study by Cynthia Stappenbeck and Kim Fromme at the University of Texas at Austin demonstrates that these behaviors can affect men and women in different ways. The researchers recruited 2,247 incoming freshmen to complete Internet-based...

NIAAA-Funded Research Centers
Comprehensive Alcohol Research Centers (P60) and Specialized Alcohol Research Centers (P50) NIAAA has released its Notice of Funding Opportunities for their Center Programs: NIAAA has established a nationwide program of Alcohol Research Centers. The Alcohol Research Centers Program complements and is interrelated with all other research support mechanisms and scientific activities that investigate the causes, diagnosis, treatment, control, prevention, and...
Research Monographs
The majority of the research monographs are based on papers presented at NIAAA-sponsored conferences on a topic. Each monograph reviews and analyzes studies conducted by alcohol researchers as well as investigators conducting research germane to the area on which the monograph focuses. The NIAAA Research Monographs are available through The SALIS Collection . Research Monograph No. 37: Alcohol Use Among...
A Better Way to Talk About Problems with Alcohol Misuse
Did you know that language commonly used to describe alcohol misuse and alcohol use disorder (AUD) can influence treatment outcomes in people suffering from alcohol problems? Yes, that can often be the case. In fact, the stigma perpetuated by such language can decrease a person’s motivation to seek help for an alcohol problem
BRAIN at 10: A View from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
This piece originally appeared on April 23, 2024, on NIH’s The BRAIN Blog . In recognition of The BRAIN Initiative ’s 10-year milestone of advancing neuroscience and neurotechnology research, Dr. Koob discussed NIAAA’s participation in the NIH BRAIN Initiative over the years and the impactful science advances that the initiative helped generate. The BRAIN Initiative is marking a milestone—10 years...
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