Nora Volkow on Mental Illness & Drug Addiction #AMIquebec

Nora Volkow, the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in the United States, joined AMI-Quebec to speak on Mental Illness & Drug Addiction: Common Developmental Risks & Brain Pathways.

This event took place at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada in September 2017 as part of AMI’s annual Low-Beer Memorial Lecture. There is a Q&A session at the end:

0:00 Mental illness leads to higher risk of drug addiction and vice versa.

2:00 Medically and scientifically, we should not treat and study mental illness & drug addiction separately.

5:00 Studying addiction as a disease of the brain.

8:20 Addiction is frequently co-expressed with mental illness.

9:35 Addiction involves multiple factors.

15:00 What do we know about the genetics of drug abuse and mental illness?

19:30 Adolescence is the period of greater vulnerability for drug abuse & addiction.

21:30 Age of onset of brain disorders.

23:00 Prefrontal cortex (cognitive control) regulates limbic activation (emotions & desires) and impulsivity.

24:50 Social & emotional deprivation increases risk for substance use disorders and mental illness.

27:30 Early drug use can modify brain development.

29:35 Bi-directional association between mental illness & substance use disorders.

33:50 Brain MAO is reduced by 30-40% in smokers.

39:50 Can exposure to drugs trigger a mental illness?

43:00 Drugs modify brain chemistry and function.

46:55 Chronic drug use changes the brain, decreases levels of DA D2 receptors.

48:50 Depression is associated with reduced ventral prefrontal activity.

51:45 Drug use and addiction can be prevented.

54:10 Drug use can be treated.

55:20 Controlled behavior vs. automatic behavior in non-addicted vs. addicted brain.

1:00:00 Summary

Q&A

1:03:30 How do 12-Step Programs like Alcoholics Anonymous help stop drug abuse?

1:05:50 Religious aspects of 12-Step Programs for addiction?

1:07:45 Does brain return to normal after addiction?

1:11:05 Genetic & environment paths to addiction for kids from high-risk environments/families.

1:14:10 Dual diagnosis integrated treatments for mental illness & substance abuse patients?

1:17:10 Intervention teams from hospitals going into communities?

1:18:40 Antipsychotic medications effects on dual-diagnosis substance abuse patients?

1:20:00 State funded heroin clinics?

1:22:20 Meditation for increasing Dopamine receptors?

1:24:40 Self-medicating and negative reinforcement?


AMI-Quebec is a grassroots organization that helps families manage the effects of mental illness through support, education, guidance, and advocacy.

Established in Montreal, Canada in 1977, we offer a wide range of services including workshops, support groups, individual counselling, a library of books and DVDs, a website of online resources, and recently we’ve added podcasts and YouTube videos. Most of our services are free.

If you would like more information about AMI, give us a call at 514-486-1448 or reach us anytime at www.amiquebec.org