Alcoholism Research and Neuroimaging: Implications for Treatment

It has been written that the field of alcoholism research is at a watershed, and that advances in basic molecular research await translation into important new clinical insights.

Here to shed some light in this area is John Matochik, PhD. Dr Matochik is Program Director in the Division of Neuroscience and Behavior at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The points he makes in this podcast are highlights of his presentation at the 3rd International Conference on Applications of Neuroimaging to Alcoholism (ICANA-3), at Yale School of Medicine in February. Dr Matochik refers to comments made by Kenneth R. Warren, PhD, Director of the NIAAA, who introduced that conference.

Dr. Matochik focuses his discussion on 2 key areas:

• What practicing psychiatrists need to know about the state of alcoholism research

• How may imaging help psychiatrists learn more about key problem areas in patients who are either alcohol dependent or who abuse alcohol?

For a list of what constitutes moderate and severe drinking based on NIAAA research, please click here.