The Neurobiology of Addiction | 1 CE Credit

CARE Counseling partnered with the University of Minnesota to provide a Grand Rounds Training on the neurobiology of addiction. Joining us will be Dr. Mark Thomas, a professor of neuroscience and director of the Medical Discovery Team on Addiction. This seminar will describe studies that examine how addictive drugs modify the brain to produce the pathological behaviors that characterize substance use disorders. While neurobiological studies have unearthed a wealth of very specific information about the biochemical and behavioral consequences of drug exposure, there is a considerable gap in our knowledge about what connects the actions of molecules to enduring changes in behavior. Using cellular electrophysiology and rodent behavioral models, a progressive pattern of opioid-induced synaptic plasticity in reward circuits has been identified. The seminar will describe this pattern and discuss efforts to determine which aspects of plasticity are deleterious and which may be restorative to reward system function.  

CARE Psychotherapy Training Videos are intended solely for educational purposes for mental health professionals. Viewers are expected to treat confidential material found herein according to professional guidelines. Unauthorized viewing is prohibited

Level of programing is intermediate; assumes general familiarity with the topic. 

The CARE Grand Rounds is intended to help attendees: 

• Name experimental methods used to study synaptic plasticity in the mammalian CNS. 
• Discuss the progressive pattern of plasticity induced by chronic opioid exposure. 
• Describe how neuronal plasticity in the nucleus accumbens is associated with psychoactive drugs.

The presentation is designated for CARE psychologists and mental health professionals (LP, LPC/LPCC, MFT/LMFT, LGSW/LICSW, LADC), pre-licensed mental health practitioners, and students. 

CARE Counseling is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. CARE maintains responsibility for this program and its content.  

For more information on CARE sponsored continuing education offerings click here 

About the Presenter: 

Mark Thomas is a professor of neuroscience and director of the Medical Discovery Team on Addiction, a new research program funded by the state legislature to fuel cross-disciplinary collaborations and discover new treatment options. His research examines how addictive drugs alter the brain and how these changes can lead to compulsive drug use. His lab is now focusing on ways to disrupt addiction relapse. The University of Minnesota's Medical Discovery Team (MDT) on Addiction is a multidisciplinary initiative within the University of Minnesota’s Medical School to advance research and treatment in the field of drug addiction. The overarching goal of the Medical Discovery Team on Addiction is to link brain-based discoveries to new therapeutic approaches to treat or prevent addiction. 

*The speaker has indicated no conflicts of interest. There was no commercial support for this training.