Center for Addiction Research
The Center for Addiction Research (CAR) was established in August of 2004 at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. CAR resides within the five-story, 110,000 square-foot Psychiatric Research Institute. CAR has five primary faculty, who in 2010 received over $3 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health. The overarching goal of CAR is to conduct innovative research that will improve the prevention and treatment of addictive disorders as well as inform local and national policies regarding the antecedents and consequences of addiction.
Research at CAR ranges from the investigation of basic behavioral and pharmacological processes to the assessment of innovative methods to improve treatment outcomes for adults and adolescents. Our current research priorities include:
- abuse liability assessment and human behavioral pharmacology
- decision making and cognitive effects of drugs of abuse
- drug development and the assessment of putative medications for addictive disorders
- understanding marijuana dependence to develop better methods to assist quit attempts
- understanding parenting processes and how parent training can be used as a prevention or intervention tool to reduce substance abuse and mental health problems in children
- examining the cost effectiveness of various aspects of addiction treatment
Some studies seek to recruit individuals with a history of addiction or drug abuse, whereas other studies are designed for individuals who do not use drugs (please see click on the “Participate in Research” link if you are interested in participating in a research study). Previous studies have examined drugs and drug problems related to alcohol, marijuana/cannabis, nicotine/tobacco, opioids, stimulants, GHB, and sedative/hypnotics.
