Abstract
This article examines ‘the NIDA paradigm’, the theory that addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain disease characterized by loss of control over drug taking. I critically review the official history of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) paradigm and analyze the sources of resistance to it. I argue that, even though the theory remains contested, it has yielded important insights in other fields, including my own discipline of history.
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†The author has never applied for NIDA funding and has no conflicts of interest.
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Courtwright, D. The NIDA brain disease paradigm: History, resistance and spinoffs. BioSocieties 5, 137–147 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1057/biosoc.2009.3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/biosoc.2009.3