Experts
Nora Volkow
Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse
Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, argues that abusers should be treated the same as anyone with a debilitating disease. Read More
Can you force yourself to crave lettuce and running? Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, examines the science of compulsion. Read More
It could be related to the drug-like state of withdrawal that comes when you severely decrease the amount of sugar in your system, says Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Read More
Scientist Nora Volkow’s research shows links between food and addiction. Food, just like drugs, is linked to dopamine. Read More
Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, pinpoints genetic and environmental reasons that render some people vulnerable to drugs. Read More
Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, separates the drug addicts from drug users. Read More
Drug addiction researcher Nora Volkow walks us through the singular chemical that drives substance abuse. Read More
A conversation with the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Read More
About Nora Volkow
Nora D. Volkow, M.D., became Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health in May 2003. NIDA supports most of the world's research on the health aspects of drug abuse and addiction.
Dr. Volkow's work has been instrumental in demonstrating that drug addiction is a disease of the human brain. As a research psychiatrist and scientist, Dr. Volkow pioneered the use of brain imaging to investigate the toxic effects of drugs and their addictive properties. Her studies have documented changes in the dopamine system affecting the actions of frontal brain regions involved with motivation, drive, and pleasure and the decline of brain dopamine function with age. She has also made important contributions to the neurobiology of obesity, ADHD, and the behavioral changes that occur with aging.