Anxiety is a powerful driver of drug addiction, yet many standard anti-anxiety medications are not currently used to treat substance use disorders. Our latest research explores how targeting the brain's stress systems might offer a new way to prevent and treat cocaine addiction. By using a common medication called propranolol, we found that we could not only prevent the transition into heavy cocaine use but also reduce the deep seated motivation to seek the drug. The Question

We are currently facing a global public health crisis involving substance use disorders, which account for over 5% of the total global disease burden. While addiction has traditionally been viewed as a strictly "brain-based" disorder, our latest review, is revealing that the trillions of microbes living in your gut, collectively known as the microbiome, may play a leading role in how we respond to drugs. The Question: Can the Gut Control the Brain? We wanted to understand the

For decades, the common wisdom about nicotine has been simple: it’s an appetite suppressant. We’ve all seen the pattern where smokers tend to weigh less, while those who quit often face a struggle with weight gain. However, our latest study, a collaboration with researchers at Aix-Marseilles Université, suggests that this story is more complicated than we thought. It turns out that while nicotine causes weight loss in the long run, its immediate effect on the brain might actu