Valerie Voon - Addictions: a brain network disorder

Session Overview
Disorders of addiction are a major international public health issue, exacerbated by the pandemic. The disorder is characterized by brain network abnormalities interacting with genetics and psychosocial factors. This brain network pathology is anchored on affected cognitive processes underlying core addiction theoretical mechanisms. This talk will focus on multimodal neuroimaging approaches underlying the effects and predictive capacity for alcohol misuse and linking brain network based neuromodulation therapeutics.

Bio
Valerie Voon is a Senior Principal Investigator, Neuropsychiatrist and Medical Research Council Senior Clinical Fellow with the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge. She has also recently started as a Distinguished Professor at Fudan University in Shanghai. She is the current president of the British Neuropsychiatry Association. The Voon lab spans across Cambridge and Shanghai focusing on understanding mechanisms underlying self-control and compulsivity. The lab is currently focused on identifying modifiable biomarkers for invasive and non-invasive neuromodulation relevant to addictions and compulsive behavior. They use multiple modalities including imaging, physiology, pharmacological challenges, cognitive neuroscience and computational modeling approaches.

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Should consider studying the most widespread, and highly addictive drugs on the planet: caffeine and sugar