Wilkie A. Wilson, Ph.D.
Wilkie A. Wilson, Ph.D., is professor of pharmacology and cancer biology at Duke University Medical Center and a senior research scientist for the department of Veteran Affairs. He co-authored the recently revised and updated second edition of Buzzed: The Straight Facts about the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy (W.W. Norton, 2003). He studies how drugs alter the way the brain acquires and stores information.
How Addiction Hijacks Our Reward System
Just because we love something or experience withdrawal symptoms (say, after giving up coffee), we cannot conclude we are addicted, the authors argue. Any effective treatment for true addiction must address both the reorganization of the addict’s brain and the power of his or her memories.
Our Dangerous Love Affair with Ecstasy
Should MDMA be reclassified from a criminal drug to a prescription drug?