About this course
Addictive disorders involve complex interactions among neurobiological, psychological, environmental, and sociocultural features and can reflect problems across a range of substances or behaviors. From drug abuse, to gambling, to the more controversial sex addiction and food addiction, problems with addiction share important commonalities in neurocircuitry. In this course, we will adopt a multidisciplinary lens and review contemporary research involving techniques such as brain stimulation and real-time neurofeedback to explore addiction processes and strategies for treatment.
Syllabus
Pre-requisites
One course in neuroscience, physiological psychology, biological psychology, or cognitive psychology at university level.
Long Study Tour
Short Study Tour
About this tour
On this week-long Study Tour, you will explore the neuroscience of addiction through cultural, social, historical, and political perspectives, focusing on Portugal’s pioneering drug decriminalization policy. In Lisbon, you’ll visit research labs, treatment centers, and harm reduction programs, and engage with experts as well as individuals with lived experience. Through fieldwork and discussion, you’ll examine how science connects to real-world practice and how Portuguese history and policy shape approaches to addiction.
Learning outcomes
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Gain insight into public attitudes and policies to prevent problems with addiction in Lisbon
- Visit labs specializing in addiction to learn about cutting-edge research on addictive processes and strategies for prevention and intervention
- Hear from clinicians about challenges and opportunities for treating problems with addiction within the Portuguese medical system
Possible activities
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Visit SICAD (General Directorate for Intervention on Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies) to learn about Portugal’s national drug policy and its public health approach to addiction
- Engage in a roundtable discussion with harm reduction workers and former users at GAT (Grupo de Ativistas em Tratamentos) to understand frontline responses to substance use
- Tour the neuroscience labs at the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown and hear from researchers studying brain mechanisms related to addiction