Director's Page

Nora D. Volkow, M.D., became Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health in May 2003. NIDA supports most of the world’s research on the health aspects of drug abuse and addiction.

Dr. Volkow’s work has been instrumental in demonstrating that drug addiction is a disease of the human brain. As a research psychiatrist and scientist, Dr. Volkow pioneered the use of brain imaging to investigate the toxic effects and addictive properties of abusable drugs. Her studies have documented changes in the dopamine system affecting, among others, the functions of frontal brain regions involved with motivation, drive, and pleasure in addiction. She has also made important contributions to the neurobiology of obesity, ADHD, and aging. Read more.

Latest Blog Posts

World AIDS Day 2018 (November 30, 2018)
In Memoriam—Herbert Kleber (October 22, 2018)
New NIDA Research Reveals the Power of Social Reinforcers (October 15, 2018)
Recent Research Sheds New Light on Why Nicotine is So Addictive (September 28, 2018)
The HEALing Communities Study: Using Science to Address the Opioid Crisis (September 19, 2018)

Directors Reports to Council

See All Director's Reports

Published Papers

Position Papers

The role of the oral health community in addressing the opioid overdose epidemic (PubMED, August, 2018)
Overdose prevention through medical treatment of opioid use disorders (PubMED, August 2018)
Medications for opioid use disorder: bridging the gap in care (PubMED, November, 2017)
Medical Marijuana Laws and Cannabis Use, Intersections of Health and Policy, (PubMED, June, 2017)
Opioid Abuse in Chronic Pain - Misconceptions and Mitigation Strategies (PubMed, Mar 2016)
Opioids in Pregnancy (PubMed, Jan 2016)
Brain Disease Model of Addiction: Why is it so Controversial? (PubMed, Aug 2015)
Dramatic advances in addiction research, (Nature, June, 2015)
NOW vs LATER Brain Circuits: Implications for Obesity and Addiction (PubMed, Mar 2015)
Beliefs modulate the effects of drugs on the human brain, (PubMED, February, 2015)
Adverse Health Effects of Marijuana Use (PubMed, Jun 2014)

Reviews

Effects of Cannabis Use on Human Behavior, Including Cognition, Motivation, and Psychosis: A Review (PubMed, Mar 2016)
The Brain on Drugs: From Reward to Addiction (PubMed, Aug 2015)
Addiction as a Systems Failure: Focus on Adolescence and Smoking (PubMed, Apr 2011)
Neurocircuitry of Addiction (PubMed, Jan 2010)
The Neural Basis of Addiction: A Pathology of Motivation and Choice (PubMed, Aug 2005)
Drug Addiction and its Underlying Neurobiological Basis: Neuroimaging Evidence for the Involvement of the Frontal Cortex (PubMed, Oct 2002)

Research

Functional Connectivity and Brain Activation: A Synergistic Approach (PubMed, Oct 2014)
Obesity and Addiction: Neurobiological Overlaps (PubMed, Jan 2013)
Motivation Deficit in ADHD is Associated with Dysfunction of the Dopamine Reward Pathway (PubMed, Nov 2011)
How Can Drug Addiction Help Us Understand Obesity? (PubMed, May 2005)
Association of Dopamine Transporter Reduction with Psychomotor Impairment in Methamphetamine Abusers (PubMed, Mar 2001)
Brain Dopamine and Obesity (PubMed, Feb 2001)
Addiction, A Disease of Compulsion and Drive: Involvement of the Orbitofrontal Cortex (PubMed, Mar 2000)
Decreased Striatal Dopaminergic Responsiveness in Detoxified Cocaine-dependent Subjects (PubMed, Apr1997)
Decreased Dopamine-D(2) Receptor Availability is Associated with Reduced Frontal Metabolism in Cocaine Abusers (PubMed, Jun 1993)
Graphical Analysis of Reversible Radioligand Binding from Time Activity Measurements Applied to [N-C-11-methyl]-(-)-cocaine PET Studies in Human Subjects (PubMed, Sep 1990)

NIDA Awards

Lifetime Science Awards

Testimony to Congress

Federal Efforts to Combat the Opioid Crisis: A Status Update on CARA and Other Initiatives (October 25, 2017)
The Federal Response to the Opioid Crisis (October 05, 2017)
Research on the Use and Misuse of Fentanyl and Other Synthetic Opioids (June 30, 2017)
Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Request (July 29, 2016)
Researching the Potential Medical Benefits and Risks of Marijuana (July 13, 2016)

Awards

Featured Article

The brain disease model of addiction is strongly supported by scientific evidence, according to a commentary - “Brain disease model of addiction: why is it so controversial?” , published in The Lancet Psychiatry by NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow and NIAAA Director Dr. George Koob.

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