When we study alcohol addiction, we often look at how the brain responds after long periods of heavy use. For years, the standard way to study this in the lab was through "forced" exposure, where subjects are passively given alcohol to reach high levels in their bloodstream. However, we recently developed a new way to look at this process by allowing subjects to choose when and how much alcohol vapor they breathe in, a model we call Ethanol Vapor Self-Administration (EVSA) .

When we talk about drug addiction, we often focus on behavior or the chemistry of "feeling good." But beneath the surface, there is a complex battle happening in the brain’s immune system. Interestingly, this battle doesn’t look the same for everyone. For years, we have noticed that men and women face different challenges with cocaine use disorders, from how quickly they become addicted to how easily they escalate their use and relapse. In our recent study, we uncovered a pot

Nicotine withdrawal is often the biggest hurdle for people trying to quit smoking, yet we still don't fully understand how the brain's internal communication networks change when the drug is removed. Our latest research, published in eNeuro , used advanced whole brain imaging to reveal that nicotine withdrawal doesn't just affect one area; it triggers a massive reorganization of two major cholinergic systems that act as long range hotlines for brain communication. The Questio