James 苹果淫院 Distinguished Speaker Series Presents Dr. Joshua W. Buckholtz
Join the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology on Thursday, April 3, 2014 for the James 苹果淫院 Speaker Series in Educational and Counselling Psychology for
, Harvard University
Bad Genes, Bad Moms, and Bad Brains: A Casual Biology of Poor Self-Control
From聽deciding聽between a cupcake and a carrot聽to聽choosing a retirement fund,聽we鈥檙e all faced聽with聽the need聽to delay gratification in order to achieve long-term goals.聽聽While聽everyone聽indulges聽temptation聽occasionally, highly impulsive people consistently make聽immediate-focused choices聽with聽serious聽adverse consequences.聽Impulsivity is a stable聽trait that聽is聽associated with profound individual dysfunction and impairment, and causes significant financial costs society-wide. While we know that "bad genes" and "bad聽environments" can account for most of the variability in impulsivity, the specific systems-level neurobiological mechanisms聽through which these factors act to affect behavior are poorly characterized.聽Using a combination of pharmacological, genetic, and multi-modal brain imaging approaches, I will provide evidence that specific "bad genes" (MAOA, DRD2, and LEPR) selectively聽disrupt information processing聽within brain circuits for emotional arousal and reward motivation.聽Finally, I will show that a specific "bad environment" (childhood maltreatment) is associated with dysfunction in these same circuits, possibly accounting for observed gene-by-environment interactions in risk for psychiatric disorders characterized by poor self-control.
To share the poster (.pdf) for this event, please click on the following link: Dr. Joshua Buckholtz - April 3, 2014.pdf
A wine and cheese will be held following the talk.
