Edythe D. London

C8-831 Semel

Research Description:

A pioneer in brain imaging to study addiction, Dr. London performs translational studies, primarily using multi-modal brain imaging in human research participants ? molecular imaging with PET and MRS, and structural and functional MRI. The goal is to elucidate neurochemical and circuit-level abnormalities that can inform evidence-based treatments for addiction. Bridging psychiatry, pharmacology and neuroscience, her work has provided notable firsts: mapping drug-induced euphoria and drug craving in the human brain, visualizing the cerebral distributions of actions of abused drugs, and developing probes for external brain imaging. Her contribution to development of radiotracers for human research has facilitated research on addictions and other neuropsychiatric disorders. Focusing on corticostriatal circuitry, dopamine receptor signaling, and executive functioning, her recent work follows her seminal findings of prefrontal cortical and cognitive deficits in cocaine users, and provides a potential therapeutic target for addiction treatments, and a mechanism by which dopaminergic neurotransmission modulates decision-making through an interactive frontostriatal system.