National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Launches an Educational Virtual Reality Experience for Teens
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) recently launched Alcohol and Your Brain, a virtual reality (VR) module to engage and educate young audiences about how alcohol affects the brain. Designed for Oculus Quest, Quest 2, or Meta Quest Pro headsets, this activity takes users on a virtual rollercoaster ride through the brain, with stops to describe alcohol’s harmful effects on the prefrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens, amygdala, hippocampus, and cerebellum.
NIAAA created a complementary desktop video version of the VR module to make the Alcohol and Your Brain content even more accessible. Parents and educators can share the video with middle schoolers on any computer or mobile device. NIAAA also created a second video version that provides audio descriptions for users with low or no vision. Both videos provide captions for viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing.
NIAAA kicked off the launch of the VR experience during the 2023 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Take Your Child to Work Day event on April 27. The VR experience was well received by participants, and the online, audio-described version earned praise from the NIH Digital Accessibility Program.
NIAAA will showcase the VR experience at upcoming professional association conferences. Students, caregivers, stakeholder groups, news media, and the general public are invited to engage with and share this free resource. You can find more NIAAA educational materials on alcohol and the brain on this webpage.
In this Issue
Incorporating Harm Reduction Into Alcohol Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery
For many years, complete abstinence from alcohol consumption was viewed as the most effective way to recover from alcohol use disorder (AUD) and was a primary outcome of AUD treatment. A large body of evidence, however, suggests that treatment and recovery strategies that reduce heavy alcohol consumption and alcohol-related consequences without complete abstinence can be effective for mitigating the harms associated with alcohol misuse for many individuals.
Scientific Director for the Division of Intramural Clinical and Biological Research Selected for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
David Lovinger, Ph.D., has been selected as the Scientific Director of the Division of Intramural Clinical and Biological Research at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).
Empowering Health Care Professionals To Provide Evidence-Based Care
Since its release just over a year ago, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Healthcare Professional’s Core Resource on Alcohol (HPCR) has been the focus of ongoing efforts to empower health care professionals in providing evidence-based alcohol-related care.
The Beauty of #SciArt
“Things I’ve seen through a microscope” is the straightforward way Margaret (Meg) Davis, Ph.D., describes her X, formerly known was Twitter, channel, @BrainsRus. Dr. Davis is a retired National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) neuroscientist and anatomist, who remains dedicated to tweeting about and sharing her fascination with “#SciArt”—the dazzling and colorful scenes visible thanks to innovations in neuroscientific imaging.
Five Questions With Bin Gao, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief, Laboratory of Liver Diseases, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.