Drugs of abuse cause changes in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and associated regions that impair inhibitory control over drug-seeking. Breaking the contingencies between drug-associated cues and the delivery of the reward during extinction learning reduces rates of relapse. Here we used vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) to induce targeted synaptic…

As colleges and universities acknowledge the connection between behavioral health and student success, ACTA releases this powerful report calling for a new level of awareness and collaborative action by presidents and trustees to address student alcohol and drug use. The report provides examples of successful, evidence-based programs implemented…

This occasional paper presents subgroup findings from the Monitoring the Future (MTF) study on levels of, and trends in, the use of a number of substances for nationally representative samples of high school graduates ages 19-30, "Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2018. Volume II, College Students & Adults…

Background: Transgender adolescents face tremendous social stress in families and schools, which often leads to behavioral health disparities. This study assessed whether rates of substance use were higher among transgender adolescents when compared to nontransgender adolescents. Methods: This study is a secondary data analysis of the 2013-2015…

This occasional paper presents subgroup findings from the Monitoring the Future (MTF) study on levels of, and trends in, the use of a number of substances for nationally representative samples of high school graduates ages 19-30, "Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2018. Volume II, College Students & Adults…

Monitoring the Future (MTF) is a long-term study of substance use and related factors among U.S. adolescents, college students, and adult high school graduates through age 60. It is conducted annually and supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. MTF findings identify emerging substance use problems, track substance use trends, publish…

Researchers examined the association between perceptions of harm from substance use and social self-efficacy (SSE) in a sample of early adolescents in public middle schools (n = 4,122). One-way analysis of covariance and post hoc tests were used to assess the relationships between perceptions of harm from tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine…

This occasional paper presents national demographic subgroup data for the 1975-2019 Monitoring the Future (MTF) national survey results on 8th, 10th, and 12th graders' use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. The 2018 subgroup data presented in this report accompany the "Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use: 1975-2019:…

This occasional paper presents national demographic subgroup data for the 1975-2018 Monitoring the Future (MTF) national survey results on 8th, 10th, and 12th graders' use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. The study covers all major classes of illicit and licit psychoactive drugs for an array of population subgroups. The trends are presented in…

Identification and quantification of an unknown illicit drug (cocaine) from both simulated drug paraphernalia and simulated urine can be achieved via direct analysis in real time (DART) triple quadrupole linear ion trap (QTRAP) mass spectrometry (MS). We describe a novel, hands-on laboratory activity which utilizes the recent DART technology…

Monitoring the Future (MTF) is designed to give such attention to substance use among the nation's youth and adults. It is an investigator-initiated study that originated with, and is conducted by, a team of research professors at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research. Since its onset in 1975, MTF has been funded continuously…

Human and preclinical models of addiction demonstrate that gonadal hormones modulate acquisition of drug seeking. Little is known, however, about the effects of these hormones on extinction of drug-seeking behavior. Here, we investigated how 17ß-estradiol (E[subscript 2]) affects expression and extinction of cocaine seeking in female rats. Using a…

The dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus is critical for spatial memory and is also thought to be involved in the formation of drug-related associative memory. Here, we attempt to test an aspect of the Gateway Hypothesis, by studying the effect of consecutive exposure to nicotine and cocaine on long-term synaptic potentiation (LTP) in the DG. We…

Monitoring the Future (MTF) is designed to give attention to substance use among the nation's youth and adults. It is an investigator-initiated study that originated with, and is conducted by, a team of research professors at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research. Since its onset in 1975, MTF has been funded continuously by…

This occasional paper presents national demographic subgroup data for the 1975-2017 Monitoring the Future (MTF) national survey results on 8th, 10th, and 12th graders' use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. MTF is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health under a series of investigator-initiated, competitive…