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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cigarette smoking results in more than 400,000 premature deaths each year—about 1 in every 5 U.S. deaths. |
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The University of Southern California Health, Emotion, & Addiction Laboratory (USC-HEAL) conducts research on the etiology of drug addiction. A broad emphasis is to uncover why some people are prone to addiction while others are not. More specifically, laboratory focuses on psychobiological factors that influence drug use, such as one’s emotional traits. Most of the work is focused on tobacco and stimulant drugs (i.e., amphetamine/ methamphetamine and crack/cocaine). However, psychobiological determinants of other addictions as well as other health-related behaviors (e.g., eating, risk-taking, exercise) are also of interest. Research conducted is transdisciplinary in nature, and studies utilize both experimental and survey-based approaches.
Persistent use of tobacco and other drugs is a major risk factor for cancer and other deadly diseases. Thus, it is important to understand the reasons why people continue to use drugs, despite knowing about their detrimental health effects. Better understanding of the factors that underlie drug addiction will lead to the development of more effective interventions. The overall goal of the USC-HEAL is to generate research findings that inform the prevention and treatment of substance use and other behavioral risk factors for disease. |
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Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research Department of Preventive Medicine University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine 1000 So Fremont Ave, Unit 8 Alhambra, CA 91803 E-mail: adam.leventhal@usc.edu
Supported by National Institute on Drug Abuse Grants R01-DA026831 and K08-DA025041 |
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Health, Emotion, & Addiction Laboratory |
