Title of Lecture: Unveiling the Mystery of Addiction: From Control to Compulsion—A Multidimensional Analysis of Compulsive Drug Use

Date: April 6 (Monday), 8:00–10:00 AM

Venue: Room 418, Building 1, Ningbo University Affiliated Kangning Hospital

Speaker: Professor David Belin

Brief Introduction of the Speaker:

Professor David Belin is a tenured professor at the University of Cambridge, Director of Psychological and Behavioural Sciences Research at Homerton College, Cambridge, and Professor of Behavioural Neuroscience in the Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge. He is the Treasurer-Elect of the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO), an adjunct professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (New York, USA), an international visiting scholar at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a visiting scientist at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA, USA), a senior researcher at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), and a grant review expert for the Medical Research Council (MRC, UK) and the French National Research Agency (ANR). He has published two papers in Science and over 100 papers in total, with 10,585 total citations, an H-index of 46, and an i10-index of 66. He has received research funding totaling more than £8.5 million. He currently serves as Section Editor for the European Journal of Neuroscience (Wiley), Associate Editor for Brain Communications (Oxford University Press), Review Editor for Addiction Biology, Advisory Editor for Psychopharmacology, and Senior Editor for Brain and Behavior (Wiley).

Lecture Abstract:

Substance addiction is not only a major public health challenge but also a complex manifestation of imbalanced brain mechanisms. Why do 15% to 80% of recreational drug users eventually fall into an inescapable pattern of compulsive drug use? This lecture will draw on cutting-edge preclinical research to deeply dissect the core mechanisms underlying the transition from goal-directed to compulsive, habitual drug-seeking behavior. It will elucidate how hypofunction of the cortico-striatal networks serves as a “neural signature” of addiction, explore the role of molecular markers of plasticity and the dopamine–adenosine mechanisms in compulsive behavior, and analyze how individual vulnerability predicts addiction risk. Whether you are a student of neuroscience or psychology, or a researcher interested in the mechanisms of addiction, this is an academic feast not to be missed.