UCL Neuroscience Society welcome back Professor David Nutt, President of the European Brain Council and Edmond J. Safra Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London, to share his expertise on the neurobiology of drug addiction. Widely known as “the scientist who was sacked” from the UK’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs for saying […]

Ingredients in magic mushrooms may have profound therapeutic potential in the treatment of psychological disorders, but under current UK law, it’s almost impossible to study them. We ask Professor David Nutt where scientists can get their hands on some…

In recent decades doctors have branded addiction a brain disease, and treated it as such. But in this riveting and provocative talk, neuroscientist and former addict Marc Lewis makes the convincing case that addiction isn’t a disease at all. Using personal stories and robust science, he explains how addiction really impacts our brains, and how […]

Experimental neuroscience which studies dopamine and the brain’s reward system can shed light on drug addiction, how it works, and how to treat it.

Matt Sargeant asks if addiction will still be a major societal problem by the 22nd Century, and whether pharmacology might have the answer

E-cigarettes are gaining popularity, but are they an effective aid to quitting smoking? …

Deryck Whibley couldn’t stop the spiral to alcoholism because of its dual impact on his brain …

Electronic cigarettes have helped many smokers to quit, but how safe are they? …

It’s a Saturday night in Los Angeles and the University of South California’s Galen Centre is completely sold out. Over 10,000 excited fans have packed out the sports arena. Each has paid at least $30 to watch two teams battle it out in the championship final. The play-offs were thrilling, but this match is for […]

Things are all atwitter in the social networking sphere after Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg took the risky decision to float a proportion of shares for the site last week. Although this may not have been as successful as planned, social networking sites are constantly accessible, incredibly popular and seem to be unavoidable. Following revelations earlier […]

There are those among us, myself included, who explain away their inability to say no to one more drink or one more packet of biscuits by proclaiming that they have an ‘addictive personality’ which somehow makes their lack of self control socially acceptable. Despite using this excuse many times myself, deep down I thought this […]