Addiction Medicine and Addiction Psychiatry Updates

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-10-cellular-atlas-amygdala-reveals-treatment.html Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have created a unique, cell-by-cell atlas of the amygdala, a small structure deep within the brain that plays a crucial role in controlling emotional responses to drugs. The findings,  published  in  Nature Neuroscience , helped the researchers identify a potential new treatment for cocaine addiction, a disease that is poorly understood at the molecular level and has virtually no approved pharmacological treatments. Zhou, J.L. et al. Single-nucleus genomics in outbred rats with divergent cocaine addiction-like behaviors reveals changes in gene amygdala GABAergic inhibition.  Nature Neuroscience (2023).  DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01452-y   www.nature.com/articles/s41593-023-01452-y

The authors conclude that "neuroimaging abnormalities across substance use disorders map to a common brain network that is similar across imaging modalities, substances and lesion locations that cause remission from substance use disorders." Stubbs, J.L., Taylor, J.J., Siddiqi, S.H.  et al.  Heterogeneous neuroimaging findings across substance use disorders localize to a common brain network.  Nat. Mental Health   1 , 772–781 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44220-023-00128-7

In this Guardian piece, Dr. Carrie Cunningham and Dr Chris Bundy share their stories.  Dr. Cunningham also shares the story of her close friend, Dr. Christina Barkley, who sadly died by suicide.   Also, Dr. Chris Bundy, Executive Medical Director of the Washington Physicians Health Program and Past President of the FSPHP, and Dr. Carrie Cunningham, Associate Professor of Surgery of Harvard Medical School, and Section Head of the Endocrine Surgery Program will present the session   Physician Health Programs: A Candid Conversation   on the opening day of the American Conference on Physician Health on October 11, 2023.  Dr. Bundy will summarize the history of physician health programs, the PHP model, and key PHP outcomes, and both he and Dr. Cunningham will discuss the unique role physician health programs play in supporting the healthcare workforce today, as well as strategize about efforts to ensure that PHPs are well positioned to support the workforce of the future.