Defining neurobiological links between substance use and mental illness

National Institute On Drug Abuse

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

Significant progress has been made this fiscal year in terms of collecting data to meet the stated objectives of understanding links between mental health and substance use, investigating novel pharmacotherapies, and understanding the neurobiology underlying substance use and mental health. Data collection has been ongoing for three projects related to this overarching arm, and we have conducted a deep evaluation of data processing pipelines to ensure that the most rigorous method will be used to assess this work. We have published papers evaluating the neurobiological impact of substances on brain dynamics (a novel method, which allows for deeper evaluation of inherent brain function) Hill JA, Korponay C, Salmeron BJ, Ross TJ, Janes AC. Catecholaminergic Modulation of Large-Scale Network Dynamics Is Tied to the Reconfiguration of Corticostriatal Connectivity. Hum Brain Mapp. 2024 Dec 1;45(17):e70086. and we have shown links between inherent brain organization, brain function, and clinical measures. Murray L, Scavnicky MK, Korponay C, Lukas SE, Frederick BB, Janes AC. Brain reactivity to nicotine cues mediates the link between resting-state connectivity and cue-induced craving in individuals who smoke or vape nicotine. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2025 May;50(6):983-990 Collectively, things are moving forward as expected given the duration of time required to conduct clinical neuroimaging research