Selected Colloquium
Session Room 216
Session Room 216
Tuesday, June 17, 02:40 PM – 03:40 PM
Selected Colloquium 4: Circuits driving drug taking: What insights for treatment do they hold?
Individuals impacted by substance use disorders face life-long risk of relapse to drug use1. Deaths attributable to substance use disorders have increased by more than 30% over the last 20 years2. This has contributed substantially to the global burden of disease. Many existing pharmacological approaches for substance use disorders have limited efficacy. Development of new and effective interventions for substance use disorders will be enabled by improved understanding of the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms, which will help to identify targets for medication development. In this symposium, we aim to explore recent insights into novel treatment targets for substance use disorder, focusing on alcohol and opioid use disorders. In particular, we will discuss the treatment of substance use disorder from a neural circuit perspective, which may offer new strategies for the development of therapeutics to reduce the harmful use of drugs and prevent relapse.
Our speakers will present new research on the circuits and neural populations that drive substance use. Specifically, we will discuss sex differences in the neural circuits driving binge drinking (Walker) and the activity of the anterior insula cortex in the choice for alcohol over a social reward (Marchant). We also highlight a newly identified circuit originating in the ventral prefrontal cortex that is critical for the rewarding effects of opioids (Kenny). These experiments have been conducted using cutting-edge techniques with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution, including single cell spatial transcriptomics, chemogenetics and fibre photometry. Together these experiments highlight the mechanistic underpinnings of the drive for substances of abuse. The Chair (Campbell) will synthesize the evidence presented in these talks and engage with clinicians by emphasizing the importance of understanding the neurobiology contributing to these disorders.
Our symposium brings together a diverse team in terms of gender (50% female), career stage (75% early-mid-career researchers and 25% senior researchers), and ethnicity (including representation from New Zealand, Australia, Ireland). We have a chair and speakers from four different institutions (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York; VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam; Florey Institute, Melbourne, Australia; and The University of Newcastle, Australia) across three countries (The Netherlands, USA, Australia). Our chair is an early-mid-career researcher with experience in treatments for mental health disorders spanning the preclinical field to clinical feasibility studies. Speakers also represent a broad mix of research backgrounds including behavioural neuroscience, psychology, pharmacology and biochemistry. Together, this expertise will bring multiple perspectives on the treatment of substance use disorder from a preclinical perspective.
Our speakers will present new research on the circuits and neural populations that drive substance use. Specifically, we will discuss sex differences in the neural circuits driving binge drinking (Walker) and the activity of the anterior insula cortex in the choice for alcohol over a social reward (Marchant). We also highlight a newly identified circuit originating in the ventral prefrontal cortex that is critical for the rewarding effects of opioids (Kenny). These experiments have been conducted using cutting-edge techniques with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution, including single cell spatial transcriptomics, chemogenetics and fibre photometry. Together these experiments highlight the mechanistic underpinnings of the drive for substances of abuse. The Chair (Campbell) will synthesize the evidence presented in these talks and engage with clinicians by emphasizing the importance of understanding the neurobiology contributing to these disorders.
Our symposium brings together a diverse team in terms of gender (50% female), career stage (75% early-mid-career researchers and 25% senior researchers), and ethnicity (including representation from New Zealand, Australia, Ireland). We have a chair and speakers from four different institutions (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York; VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam; Florey Institute, Melbourne, Australia; and The University of Newcastle, Australia) across three countries (The Netherlands, USA, Australia). Our chair is an early-mid-career researcher with experience in treatments for mental health disorders spanning the preclinical field to clinical feasibility studies. Speakers also represent a broad mix of research backgrounds including behavioural neuroscience, psychology, pharmacology and biochemistry. Together, this expertise will bring multiple perspectives on the treatment of substance use disorder from a preclinical perspective.