"The Neuroscience of Addiction -- Does it Matter? Putting Brain and Behaviour Back Together Again

Scientists (mostly funded by the US-led War on Drugs) have clearly identified the neural correlates of addictive behaviour and long-term addiction. Unfortunately, these findings have been twisted into a pseudoscientific portrayal of addiction as a brain disease. In recent years, the ""disease model"" has been discredited by psychologists (and others) attuned to the social, economic and developmental precursors of addictive behaviour patterns. The question now is whether a neural perspective, trimmed of its medical and political trappings, remains useful. And if so, how? In this talk I argue that the integration of neural and psychological perspectives provides an optimal framework for understanding and treating addictive behaviours."