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Title
Neuroscience of addiction: Elucidating a medical rationale for prevention and empathetic treatment of alcohol use disorder

Presented by Dr. George F. Koob, Ph.D.

Description:

Alcohol and drug addiction are chronic, but treatable, diseases characterized by clinically significant impairments in health and social function. Addiction involves a three-stage cycle: binge/intoxication, withdrawal/negative affect and preoccupation/anticipation. This cycle worsens over time and involves progressive changes in the structure and function of the brain.

The shift toward understanding addiction as a medical condition—a perspective supported by decades of neurobiological research—has helped reduced the stigma associated with alcohol and other drug use disorders.

The chronic disease model of addiction has relevance for women who struggle with alcohol use disorder (AUD) during pregnancy. Prenatal alcohol exposure interferes with the development of the fetus. Advocacy groups such as NOFAS and others have recognized that birth mothers of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are often stigmatized by the public. Such stigmatization only adds to the negative affect and stress that promotes and sustains AUD. Women with AUD who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy should be referred for empathetic, evidence-based treatment for their condition.

Presenter Bio:

George F. Koob, is Director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). As NIAAA Director, Dr. Koob oversees a wide range of alcohol-related research, including genetics, neuroscience, epidemiology, prevention, and treatment. As an authority on alcoholism, drug addiction and stress, he has contributed to our understanding of the neurocircuitry associated with the acute reinforcing effects of alcohol and drugs of abuse. Dr. Koob has published over 700 peer reviewed papers and several books including the “Neurobiology of Addiction,” a comprehensive treatise on emerging research in the field. He received his Ph.D. in Behavioral Physiology from Johns Hopkins University in 1972. He spent much of his early career at The Scripps Research Institute.

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