Substance abuse is a severely debilitating disorder that results in significant liabilities for an orderly society. These include not only the individual and the personal consequences resulting from such abuse, but also secondary effects such as the illegal activities related to procurement, as well as decreased productivity that follows an individual's loss of control to compulsive drug use. Although significant advances in treatment have been accomplished, there is still a great deal to understand and implement. The effective and efficient treatment and prevention of substance abuse could be assisted with further knowledge of the basic biological mechanisms underlying these processes. It has become increasingly to be similar in complexity. One of the major goals of the Center for the Neurobiological Investigation of Drug Abuse is to provide an environment for scientific interactions to occur between NIDA funded investigators. The broad range of research expertise on drug abuse issues in the Center spans from the basic molecular mechanisms of drug action, to the consequences of drug abuse in humans. The research areas involved include: receptor coupling mechanisms; receptor binding; patch clamp techniques; neurochemistry; neuroendocrinology; behavioral neurophysiology; microdialysis; behavioral pharmacology; medication development and assessment; and positron emission tomography. This expertise in drug abuse research will be applied to targeted Projects dealing with contemporary issues to be realized through Core supported laboratories, permitting new directions and levels of collaboration that would not otherwise be possible. Training in neurobiological methods applied to the investigation of drug abuse will occur at both the predoctoral and postdoctoral levels. The Center will also serve as a resource to the public by providing information concerning the basic mechanisms of the actions of abused substances. The establishment of this Center will permit a comprehensive research, training and service environment focused on collaborative investigations of neurobiological mechanisms of drug abuse.
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