Expert on Drug Addiction to Speak at UW Thursday

An internationally acclaimed leader in the field of drug addiction will speak Thursday, April 24, at 7 p.m. in Room 214 of the University Wyoming Classroom Building.

Peter Kalivas, a distinguished professor and director of the Neurobiology of Addiction Research Center at the Medical University of South Carolina, will discuss “Why do we like drugs so much?” 

“Why do people like addictive drugs including alcohol, and why do some people have an overpowering urge to use drugs even when it is bad for their health, families and work?” Kalivas asks. “This seminar will explore recent developments in our understanding of how the brain works that are providing answers to these questions, and how these discoveries are pointing towards new treatments for drug addiction.”

His laboratory conducts experiments intended to reveal the neurobiological underpinnings of drug addiction to design pharmacotherapeutic treatments. Research is focused on the neurobiology of relapse and the long-lasting changes in brain function produced by drug abuse that create vulnerability to relapse.

The talk is part of the Distinguished Neuroscience Lecture Series sponsored by UW’s Neuroscience Program.