ISNR
The Interational Society of Neurofeedback & Research
Marc Lewis, PhD
Marc Lewis is a cognitive neuroscientist and professor emeritus of developmental psychology, at the University of Toronto from 1989 to 2010, now blogging, writing, and speaking on the science, experience, and treatment of addiction. He is the author or co-author of over 50 scientific journal articles on developmental psychology, emotion, and neuroscience. He now contributes regularly to The Guardian and other popular publications.
Topic: Addiction
Presentation Title: Is Addiction a Brain Disease? And Does it Matter?
Saturday, October 20 at 12:30 PM
Over the past 20 to 30 years, medical authorities have come to define and explain addiction as a brain disease. However, the domination of the disease model skews the science of addiction, diverts attention from key social-psychological factors, and results in potentially harmful trends in policy and clinical practice. In this talk I review the distortions and omissions of the classic brain disease model and point to problems in the treatment philosophy derived from it. I then outline an alternative model of addiction based on principles of learning and development. This model views addiction as an entrenched habit for regulating emotional needs, learned through the repeated pursuit of highly-motivating but short-lived rewards. Developmental-learning models of addiction help explain individual differences in vulnerability (and recovery) based on early emotional difficulties and current psychological and social resources.
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