National Institute on Drug Abuse's behavioral research agenda

Basic behavioral research continues to play an integral role in the National Institute on Drug Abuse's (NIDA's) search for solutions to the complex social and public health problems posed by drug abuse and addiction. Along with NIDA's basic molecular and neuroscience research programs, behavioral research has played an important role in increasing clinician's understanding of the mechanisms and processes that underlie addiction. Much has been learned about the ways in which animals and humans respond to their environment and the role these basic behavioral processes play in drug abuse and other drug-abuse-related phenomena, such as withdrawal, craving, and relapse, but there is still much more to be known. The author discusses how NIDA will continue to build and promote its behavioral research agenda and ensure that behavioral research findings are applied in real-life settings when applicable.