Portal to the Penn Neuroscience Community
Home
MINS Members
MINS News
Weekly Events
MINS Colloquium Schedule
History
Community Outreach Programs
Neuroscience Graduate Group
Other Educational Activities
Society for Neuroscience
Classified Ads
MINS Members
Charles
P. O'Brien, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Psychiatry
School of Medicine
3900 Chestnut Street/6178
(215) 222-3200, Ext 132
email: obrien@mail.trc.upenn.edu
The Charles O'Brien Center for Addiction Treatment
Click here for selected publications since Dr. O'Brien's arrival at Penn
RESEARCH INTERESTSPre-clinical and clinical psychopharmacology; mechanisms of drug dependence; endogenous opioids; conditioning; pharmacological treatment of addictive disorders
RESEARCH TECHNIQUES
Placebo-controlled clinical trials of new medications; classical conditioning and extinction as experimental treatments for addiction; human brain imaging using PET, SPECT and fMRI for studies of regional cerebral blood flow and receptors; tests of novel medications in animal models of alcohol and other drug dependenceRESEARCH SUMMARY
Our research center is engaged in studies to develop new treatments for addictive disorders including dependence on nicotine, alcohol, cocaine and heroin. Controlled clinical trials are emphasized, but we are also interested in basic mechanisms of drug dependence. This involves studies of drug self-administration, tolerance, withdrawal and relapse in humans and in animal models. We are particularly interested in classical conditioning and endogenous opioids. Our recent work suggests that alcohol reinforcement is blocked by opiate receptor antagonists.
KEY WORDS:
Addiction, dependence, psychopharmacology, treatment research
