Cynthia M. Kuhn
Cynthia M. Kuhn, Ph.D., is professor of pharmacology at Duke University Medical Center and head of its Pharmacological Sciences Training Program. She 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). Her chief research interest is in biologic factors that affect sensitivity to drugs of abuse in developing brains.
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?