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The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in America, recently held a conference to explore a possible role for physical activity in substance abuse prevention. As part of this effort, NIDA announced a $4 million grant initiative to spur further research on this emerging area of investigation.

"Exercise has been shown to be beneficial in so many areas of physical and mental health," said Dr. Nora Volkow, NIDA Director. "This cross-disciplinary meeting is designed to get scientists thinking creatively about its potential role in substance abuse prevention."

More than 100 scientists from around America gathered for the two-day conference. The goals of the meeting were:

• To share the state of the science in epidemiology, basic science, and intervention research-focused on physical activity as a strategy to prevent substance abuse;
• To facilitate development and testing of new paradigms for prevention; and
• To promote future research in these areas.

Presentations focused on the importance of the social context in which physical activity occurs, including school and the natural environment, as well as the relationship of physical activity to physical disorders (obesity), social reward structures (motivation), cognition (attention, impulse control and other motor skills), and mood disorders (depression, stress), all of which may play a role in substance abuse. To facilitate research on the role of exercise, attendees will also learn about and see demonstrations of tools that assess physiological responses to exercise and physical activity.

Article published on 16/06/2008 by DryOutNow.com

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