Translational Neuroscience Perspectives on Substance Use Prevention: Summer Symposium Series

Applying Neuroscience Concepts, Technologies, and Methods to Substance Use Prevention

This symposium will appeal to researchers, agency officials, practitioners, clinicians, educators, policymakers, students, and many others interested in pioneering perspectives and findings from the emerging field of “neuro-prevention." This symposium is free to attend.



This symposium will present research showing that biological and neuroscience technologies and findings incorporated into intervention protocols can improve effectiveness and benefit a greater number of prevention and treatment recipients. Speakers will discuss their work and those of others that are aligned with a translational basic science approach to developing interventions that more effectively disrupt pathways to substance use disorders (SUDs). Presentations will span the translational spectrum, from pre-clinical and basic research, to program development and efficacy trials, to implementation in real-world settings. As such, beginning with a discussion of relevant neuroscience findings, applications of mechanistic information will be reviewed that have been amassed as a blueprint to develop adaptive intervention strategies that more specifically target underlying generators of the phenomenon we seek to prevent. From there, the discussion will turn to methodological advances that enable optimization of programs and clinical trials to compare personalized intervention models to one-size-fits-all” approaches. And finally, speakers will address translation of this growing science to clinicians, practitioners, and policymakers.