Title: "Deaths of Despair: Negative Affect/Hyperkatifeia, Addiction and Co-Occurring Psychiatric Disorders - A Brainstorm with George Koob on the Future of Comorbidity Research”

When: June 24, 2021, 4:00 to 6:00 PM

Description: Co-occurrence of substance and other psychiatric disorders is ubiquitous.  Psychiatric disorders, including depression, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia commonly co-occur with substance use disorders, including alcohol, opioids, stimulants, cannabis and nicotine.  Comorbidity is associated with worse prognosis and the coordinated care of these patients remains a challenge.   This Mini-Symposium will begin with brief encapsulations of what we have learned from clinical research on: Depression, presented by Dr. Edward Nunes; ADHD, presented by Dr. Frances Levin; PTSD, presented by Dr. Denise Hien; and Suicide, presented by Dr. Jeffrey Miller.  The program will then feature Dr. George Koob, Director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, who will discuss the thesis and supporting pre-clinical and clinical evidence on negative affect or “hyperkatifeia” as a key driver of substance use disorders and potential mechanism underlying comorbidity.  A moderated discussion will ensue, considering potential mechanisms underlying addiction and comorbidity, and aimed at generating ideas for future clinical and pre-clinical research.  Attendees are encouraged to bring your data and ideas to share in the discussion.

Symposium Chair: Dr. Edward Nunes, Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center and Co-Senior Director Center on Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorders (CHOSEN) at Columbia University

Participants:

Dr. Frances Levin, Kennedy-Leavy Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center, Chief Division on Substance Use Disorders, and Co-Senior Director of the Center on Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorders (CHOSEN) at Columbia University

Dr. Denise Hien, Helen E. Chaney Endowed Professor in Alcohol Studies, Director, Center of Alcohol & Substance Use Studies, and Vice Provost of Research, Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Dr. Jeffrey Miller, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University and Director of Brain Imaging in the Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology (MIND) Area

Featured Presenter: Dr. George Koob is Director, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and was formerly Professor and Chair, Committee on the Neurobiology of Addictive Disorders, The Scripps Research Institute. winning numerous awards and honors for his work on the neurobiology of addiction.  His research focuses on the neuroanatomy and neuropharmacology of brain systems underlying emotion, with particular attention to the constructs of reward and stress, and adaptations in these systems associated with compulsive drug self-administration.