When we look at addiction, we often wonder if different behaviors like taking more of a drug over time, working harder to get it, or continuing to use it despite bad consequences are separate problems or part of one bigger issue. For a long time, researchers treated these as independent traits. However, in our latest study involving nearly 500 genetically diverse subjects, we found that these behaviors actually point back to a single core addiction construct. The Big Question

We often think of nicotine as something that kills your appetite. While it is true that long term smoking can lead to weight loss, some people find that they actually feel a strange surge of hunger right after a cigarette. In our recent study, we explored this "paradoxical hunger" and discovered that nicotine interferes with the body's hormonal signals for fullness. The Big Question We wanted to understand why acute nicotine intake—meaning a single dose—causes a temporary inc

In the world of neuroscience, observing how behavior changes over time is a cornerstone of understanding the brain. Whether we are studying addiction, learning, or social interaction, capturing every movement of a subject can reveal patterns that the human eye might miss. However, setting up a high-quality video recording system for dozens of subjects at once has historically been incredibly expensive and technically difficult. In our latest study, we introduced a solution th