Rationale Although considerable progress has been made, we do not yet fully understand
the behavioral and neurobiological basis of nicotine reinforcement, and without this …

Eudaimonic well-being—a sense of purpose, meaning, and engagement with life—is
protective against psychopathology and predicts physical health, including lower levels of …

The addictive potential of nicotine is clearly recognized by the tenacity of tobacco smoking
for most users, and has prompted extensive psychopharmacological studies in animals. In …

Adolescence is a unique, transitional period of human development. Once hallmark of this
period is progressive improvements (relative to children) in cognitive control, core mental …

Drug addiction is a neuropsychiatric disorder marked by escalating drug use. Dopamine
neurotransmission in the ventromedial striatum (VMS) mediates acute reinforcing effects of …

Despite recent evidence implicating the nucleus accumbens (NAc) as causally involved in
the transition to chronic pain in humans, underlying mechanisms of this involvement remain …

Although endogenous cannabinoid systems have been implicated in the modulation of the
rewarding effects of abused drugs and food, little is known about the direct effects of …

Background Previous voxel-based morphometric (VBM) and functional magnetic resonance
imaging (fMRI) studies have shown changes in brain structure and function in cocaine …

It is well known that temperature affects the dynamics of all physicochemical processes
governing neural activity. It is also known that the brain has high levels of metabolic activity …

Cocaine acts as a reinforcer through its pharmacological effects on brain monoaminergic
systems, which, through repeated pairings with environmental stimuli, lead to the …