Several major theories of addiction revolve around the role of the neurotransmitter dopamine (DA). Three distinct theories will be chosen, and the class will continually evaluate them throughout the course, in light of whether they are supported by original research papers. Each theory will “belong” to a group of five or six students, and within each group, each student will be responsible for knowing the details of that particular theory. Each week throughout the semester, students will present original research papers in journal club format. The question we will ask is, How well does the research support each theory? We will critically evaluate the theories in light of whether they are supported or refuted. Objectives include: differentiate the theories in terms of where they overlap and where they differ; identify strengths and weaknesses of each theory; determine if one theory emerges as superior; identify key research questions that could resolve discrepancies. It will not be the student’s job to defend a theory, but rather to know it well and remember its details throughout the course in order to make these weekly evaluations. Each student will be our resident authority to whom we’ll turn for objective evaluations of the theory, pro or con. Evaluations of theories will depend on our evaluations of weekly research papers. Poorly conducted studies may or may not have much bearing on the theories. Each student will keep weekly notes regarding how well the theory for which that student is responsible accommodates results of research. S/he will use these notes to write a final paper (one paper per student) evaluating the theory.
About Professor West
My research has benefited from a campus environment rich with neuroscientists, embedded within a Psychology department. Behavioral sophistication, coupled with precision measures of brain activity, enhance the value of our findings. My research team comprises postdoctoral fellows, and graduate and undergraduate students.
I study the behavioral correlations of dopamine, which are as fascinating and as compelling as any in behavioral neuroscience. Adaptations within the brain’s dopamine system to stimuli that are crucial for survival (food, water, sex) are at the heart of the evolutionary process. It appears that nature selected for the mesolimbic dopamine system, which is strategically connected to emotional and mnemonic structures and to premotor areas, enabling conditioned stimuli to guide goal-directed, instrumental behavior. Addictive drugs, which stimulate dopamine transmission, are hypothesized to produce neuroadaptations in this system which enable drug-associated stimuli to produce craving and relapse to drug seeking behavior. In support of that hypothesis, we discovered that neurons in the mesolimbic system of rats acquire persistent responsiveness to cocaine-associated cues and express these responses during relapse to cocaine seeking. Our long-term goals are to further reveal neural mechanisms of relapse, both 1) in order to develop medications for treating cocaine addiction and 2) in order to identify possible genetic differences between cue-responsive versus cue-unresponsive subjects.