Category Archives: Substance abuse
The puzzle of pediatric pain
What is the relationship between physical pain and psychological pain in children and adolescents? Early in her academic career, Jessica Fales realized that hardly anyone had studied what she most wanted to learn about—the relationship between chronic pain and social … Continue reading
Looking at drug use from an evolutionary perspective
Ed Hagen, Associate Professor of Anthropology For 15 years, Ed Hagen has been challenging the conventional theory that drug addiction is the consequence of a “hijacked” reward mechanism in the brain—the idea that people become addicts because taking drugs accidentally … Continue reading
Clay Mosher – The Changing Landscape of Marijuana
The recreational use of marijuana is legal in four states, and medical marijuana is legal in 23. Now what? It will be a complicated job to establish and enforce effective, reasonable marijuana laws that the public can get behind. Drawing … Continue reading
Renee Magnan – Is Physical Activity a Treatment for Alcohol Abuse?
As a post-doc at the University of New Mexico, Renee Magnan studied how people respond emotionally to physical activity, and how exercise might be used to help people cope with stress. Along the way, her research team uncovered a seemingly … Continue reading
Barb Sorg – Can We Blunt Drug-Related Memories?
The circumstances that lead someone to abuse drugs may also make it harder to quit. Barb Sorg, professor of neuroscience at WSU Vancouver, hypothesizes that people develop powerful drug-related memories that are implicated in relapse when they try to quit. … Continue reading
WSU Vancouver ResearchNow! 