Written by a panel of experts, Methods in Alcohol-Related Neuroscience Research not only provides information of a technical nature but also gives an overview of the many areas in investigating the effects of alcohol on the brain. It gives technical guidance for investigators doing research at the molecular, cellular, systems, and behavioral levels. These techniques include a wide variety of approaches, ranging from gene mapping and examination of molecular interactions of alcohol at the sub-cellular level to recording of neural activities in freely-behaving animals and imaging alcohol effects on the living human brain.

Recent scientific advances have provided substantial information on the brain circuits and pathways relevant to various aspects of dependence. Neurobiology of Alcohol Dependence highlights the most recent data at the molecular, cellular, neurocircuitry, and behavioral levels, fostering an understanding how neuroplasticity and neuroadaptation occur, and how different neural pathways and neurocircuits contribute to dependence. - Highlights recent advances in understanding alcohol addiction from molecular, cellular, neurocircuitry, and behavioral levels - Integrates several emerging areas of research and discusses the application of novel research techniques to the understanding of alcohol dependence - Chapters authored by leaders in the field around the globe — the broadest, most expert coverage available

Using the most well-studied behavioral analyses of animal subjects to promote a better understanding of the effects of disease and the effects of new therapeutic treatments on human cognition, Methods of Behavior Analysis in Neuroscience provides a reference manual for molecular and cellular research scientists in both academia and the pharmaceutic

Drug abuse persists as one of the most costly and contentious problems on the nation's agenda. Pathways of Addiction meets the need for a clear and thoughtful national research agenda that will yield the greatest benefit from today's limited resources. The committee makes its recommendations within the public health framework and incorporates diverse fields of inquiry and a range of policy positions. It examines both the demand and supply aspects of drug abuse. Pathways of Addiction offers a fact-filled, highly readable examination of drug abuse issues in the United States, describing findings and outlining research needs in the areas of behavioral and neurobiological foundations of drug abuse. The book covers the epidemiology and etiology of drug abuse and discusses several of its most troubling health and social consequences, including HIV, violence, and harm to children. Pathways of Addiction looks at the efficacy of different prevention interventions and the many advances that have been made in treatment research in the past 20 years. The book also examines drug treatment in the criminal justice setting and the effectiveness of drug treatment under managed care. The committee advocates systematic study of the laws by which the nation attempts to control drug use and identifies the research questions most germane to public policy. Pathways of Addiction provides a strategic outline for wise investment of the nation's research resources in drug abuse. This comprehensive and accessible volume will have widespread relevanceâ€"to policymakers, researchers, research administrators, foundation decisionmakers, healthcare professionals, faculty and students, and concerned individuals.

The question how alcohol alters mood states and why this may end up becoming an addiction is puzzling alcohol researchers since decades. In this volume, an assembly of highly distinguished experts and leaders in alcohol addiction research provides lucid presentations of the current knowledge and research challenges as well as interesting viewpoints on future research directions aimed to stimulate communication and convergence between clinical and preclinical researchers, and to renew interest in the vibrant field of alcohol addiction research among a wide scientifically minded audience. Five Current Topics are discussed in this volume: Neurobiological mechanisms of alcoholism, Genetics, Clinical phenotypes and their preclinical models, Brain imaging, and Translational approaches for treatment development, both pharmacological and non-pharmacological. These areas have in our opinion brought alcohol research substantially forward and influenced our thinking about how to reach our common paramount goal, namely to offer effective treatment solutions for an extensive group of patients with largely unmet medical needs.

The last two decades have seen prodigious growth in the application of brain imaging methods to questions of substance abuse and addiction. Despite considerable advances in our understanding of the central effects of drugs provided by preclinical data, relatively little direct evidence was known of how substances of abuse affect the brain and other eNS processes in humans. Brain imaging techniques have allowed access to the human brain and enabled the asking of questions never before imagined. The positron emission tomography (PET) data ofVolkow and her colleagues in the late 1980s, showing the uptake and time course of cocaine's binding in the human brain, revealed for the first time the distinct sites of action of this drug. This work was extremely important because it showed clearly, through imaging a drug in the brain of a living human, that the time course of its action paralleled the behavioral state of "high. " This study marked a turning point in our understanding of drug-brain-behav ior interactions in humans. Many more investigations of drug effects on the structure and function of the human brain were soon to follow, leading to much better insights into brain systems. Brain imaging allowed for the direct assessment of structural and functional anatomy, biology, and chemistry in substance abusers.

This volume gives an overview of new insights to alcohol pharmacology using DREADDs (Designer Receptors and Unraveling the Neuropharmacology of Alcohol). It examines which pharmacological principles should be applied to understanding DREADDs taking into account some very current research. Additionally, this book covers important topics under the heading of “experimental pharmacology” and alcohol.

Recent years have seen more systematic investigations of the consequences of prenatal and early postnatal exposure to alcohol for brain and behavioral development. Offers an overview of what they have shown, and points out directions for further research

Neural Mechanisms of Addiction is the only book available that synthesizes the latest research in the field into a single, accessible resource covering all aspects of how addiction develops and persists in the brain. The book summarizes our most recent understanding on the neural mechanisms underlying addiction. It also examines numerous biobehavioral aspects of addiction disorders, such as reinforcement learning, reward, cognitive dysfunction, stress, and sleep and circadian rhythms that are not covered in any other publication. Readers with find the most up-to-date information on which to build a foundation for their future research in this expanding field. Combining chapters from leading researchers and thought leaders, this book is an indispensable guide for students and investigators engaged in addiction research. - Transcends multiple neural, neurochemical and behavioral domains - Summarizes advances in the field of addiction research since the advent of optogenetics - Discusses the most current, leading theories of addiction, including molecular mechanisms and dopamine mechanisms