April 28, 2015
Co-hosted by the Department of Computer Science and CTBH
Mustafa al’Absi, PhD
Professor of Family Medicine and Biobehavioral Health, Max & Mary La Due Pickworth Chair, University of Minnesota Medical School
Director, Duluth Medical Research Institute (DMRI)
About the Presentation: Stress is a commonly reported precipitant of relapse to substance use. There is a growing recognition of the need to understand psychobiological and physiological alterations in the stress response among chronic drug users, and to determine how they may precipitate relapse. Novel methods of assessment including wearable sensor technology provide means to assess the dynamic relationship between stress and craving in the field. I will present in this seminar recent results from our laboratory focusing on biological and psychological response to stress among dependent smokers and share results demonstrating that steep decline in cortisol concentrations during early abstinence and hyporesponsiveness to stress predict shorter time to relapse. I will also present preliminary results from studies using wearable sensors to examine effects of stress in the lab and in the field. Future research in assessment and intervention with stress and tobacco addiction will be presented.
About the Presenter: Dr. al’Absi is a professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Biobehavioral Health, and directs the Duluth Medical Research Institute. He holds the Max E. and Mary LaDue Pickworth Chair. Al’Absi has been honored with several awards, including the ABMR Neal E. Miller Award and American Psychosomatic Society Herbert Weiner Early Career Award. He is a fellow of the Association for Psychological Sciences; has served in leadership positions within several scientific organizations and on several NIH panels; and is associate editor for Psychophysiology and on the editorial board of the Annals of Behavioral Medicine.