A major research investment in College Station could shape the future of addiction treatment in Texas and beyond.
Texas A&M has received more than $6 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health to study how alcohol and cocaine affect cognition, with the stated goal of improving treatment, as reported by WTAW.
The NIH awarded $6.27 million over five years across two proposals. One, for $3.25 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, examines cholinergic dysregulation and cognitive flexibility in cocaine use disorder.
The other, for $3.02 million from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, looks at how the same brain chemistry shapes striatal circuits in alcohol use disorder.
What Texas Researchers Are Asking
Jun Wang, PhD, of the Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine at Texas A&M Health, is leading the work. His central idea is that addiction is not only a disorder of reward but also a disorder of flexibility, the brain’s ability to update behavior when circumstances change.
That flexibility supports everyday decision-making, task management, and problem-solving. Wang describes addiction as a hijacked reward pathway.
Normal reward is essential for motivation and survival, he notes, but addiction exaggerates it in ways that can dull the brain’s capacity to adapt.
The two grants let his team ask whether alcohol and cocaine, though very different substances, disrupt related brain circuits that drive addictive decision-making.
Why This Matters for Texans
For families across Texas weighing addiction treatment options, the long-term promise of this research is practical.
Wang says the goal is to identify brain-circuit mechanisms that could eventually guide new strategies to restore cognitive control in substance use disorders.
Better understanding of how substances erode decision-making could inform therapies that help people rebuild it.
It is worth being clear about timing. This is foundational research funded over five years, not a treatment available today. Its value is in pointing toward better care down the road.
Understanding Alcohol and Cocaine Use
Alcohol is the most widely used addictive substance in the United States, and heavy use can affect memory, judgment, and impulse control over time.
Cocaine is a stimulant that drives intense but short-lived reward, and repeated use can reinforce compulsive patterns that are hard to break.
Both substances are central to the Texas A&M research precisely because they reshape how the brain makes decisions.
Common signs of addiction include using more than intended, failed attempts to cut back, neglecting responsibilities at work or home, needing more of a substance to feel the same effect, and continuing to use despite clear harm.
If several of these sound familiar for you or someone you love, it may be time to look at treatment options rather than wait for the situation to worsen.
Local Resources and Next Steps
Help is available across the state right now, regardless of where this research leads. You can search addiction treatment centers in Texas, compare options in the Bryan-College Station area, and ask programs about treatment for alcohol use disorder and stimulant use disorder.
Addictions.com lists verified treatment centers across the nation that can support your recovery. Call
800-681-1058
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