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Neurodiversity and Autism
“She’s autistic.” I explained to the cashier as ten year old Peggy ran her hand lovingly along the wall of the skating rink and screeched about Teletubbies. “Artistic?” The cashier was confused in a way that few people would be now, six years later. Autism has become a well known word for a condition that…
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People, places, and things – How important are drug-related triggers for addiction relapse?
In cognitive behavioral therapy they’re a big part of the “Five W’s” = When, Where, Why, With, and What. In the various 12-step programs they’re simply referred to as “People, places, and things.” But no matter how you refer to them, drug-associated cues, or “triggers” as they are more commonly known, obviously play a big…
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Two forms of alcoholism: One which warrants a chronic disease model, and college
When it comes to drug addiction, no matter how you look at it and which model you believe in, there are the transients and the ones with serious problems…
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How doctors treat doctors with drug use problems: Addiction treatment that works
Physician Health Programs (PHP) are reporting an astonishing success rate when it comes to providing addiction treatment for addicted doctors: Only about 20% of doctors ever test positive after being admitted to the program within a 5 year period. More than 70% maintain their license and continue working within the same 5 year period. These…
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Helping Addicts with medications for cravings
If we could make it so drug addicts could stop craving the substances that have brought them to their knees, would relapse rates drop and addiction-treatment success rates soar? I sure hope so! Medications that stop cravings? I’ve already written about a study by the renowned addiction researcher Barry Everitt showing that medications could be…
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Measles vaccine finally vindicated – No more autism link
Dr. Andrew Wakefiled’s research on 12 children that served as the only major link between autism and the MMT vaccine has now been officially retracted by the Lancet, the British journal that published it originally. It seems Dr. Wakefiled may have played around a bit with his research. That’s nice. Even though multiple later studies…
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Maybe its not all about friends: Parents, drinking, and race
contributing author: Gacia Tachejian Have you ever asked yourself where it is that kids learn about drug use? Parents have long been known to protect their young ones from “bad” influences from outside, but a recent study at Yale shows that a major source influence still exists within the home. Interestingly, the researchers, headed by…
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Sound asleep – Learning while sleeping may indeed be a reality
Okay, so this recent study from Northwestern isn’t saying you can learn anything you want by simply playing it while you’re asleep. Still, it seems to give hope that some learning enhancement can occur while we’re napping.
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Drug use memories and relapse: Can medication provide addiction help?
Originally posted on allaboutaddiction.com: About a year ago, while sitting in a lecture on learning and memory, the idea that certain drugs can affect the emotional responses to memory long after the memory itself has been formed came up. As someone interested in addiction research, the implication for treatment immediately came up in my head:…