Today scientists know the use and abuse of potentially addictive drugs can produce long-lasting changes in behavior and psychological function. The changes are caused by alterations in neural systems.
But understanding this relationship took decades of research.
In his inaugural lecture as the Elliot S. Valenstein Distinguished University Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience, Terry Robinson of LSA will review some of the long-term effects of drugs of abuse on the brain and behavior through the development of his research career. He will deliver the lecture “How Time Flies: Lessons Learned From 34 Years Studying Drugs, Brain & Behavior” at 4 p.m. Jan. 25 in the Rackham Amphitheatre.
Distinguished University Professor is the highest professorial title granted at U-M. A reception will follow the lecture, which is free and open to the public.
Robinson, who also is professor of psychology, LSA, is known internationally for his research on the persistent behavioral and neurobiological consequences of repeated exposure to drugs of abuse, and the implications of these for addiction and relapse. He is considered a leading expert on the psychology and neurobiology of addiction.
Robinson’s early research included groundbreaking papers showing that repeated treatment with potentially addictive drugs produces long-lasting changes in subsequent drug-induced behavior, as well as associated alterations in brain chemistry and structure.
He also showed that the context in which drugs are experienced strongly influences their ability to change the brain and behavior, and the large individual differences in how drugs and drug cues exert control over behavior.
With U-M colleague Kent Berridge, the James Olds Collegiate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Robinson has published influential theoretical articles on how drug-induced changes in brain and behavior known as “incentive-sensitization” may contribute to the development of addiction by enhancing how much drugs are “wanted” but not “liked.”
He has published more than 200 articles, which have been cited more than 22,100 times, making him one of the highest-cited scientists in the world in the field of neuroscience. In recognition of his contributions, he has been supported by both a Senior Scientist award and a MERIT award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
“Drug use changes the brain in ways that alter psychological functions leading to a pathological desire for drugs,” Robinson says. “Why motivational cues tempt some more than others is a combination of genetic and environmental factors.”
At U-M he is the director of the NIDA Training Program in Neuroscience and has served as chair of the Biopsychology Program and director of the Neuroscience Program.
He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a charter fellow of the American Psychological Society, a member of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) and for 13 years was editor-in-chief of the journal Behavioural Brain Research. Robinson joined the U-M faculty in 1978.
