The Obsessive Focus and the Trail Where It Leads

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Nora Volkov's father is a grandson of Leon Trotsky. She was born in Mexico City and went to medical school there before leaving for Paris, then New York on her way to psychiatry training. Her mother came to Mexico when she was 18 years of age as part of the political asylum given to children from Madrid fighting against Franco. "We actually lived in the house where Trotsky had been killed because my father took the responsibility to ensure that it will be left as a museum"

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Nora D. Volkow, MD, is Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health. NIDA is the world’s largest funder of scientific research on the health aspects of drug use and addiction. Dr. Volkow's work has been instrumental in demonstrating that drug addiction is a brain disorder. As a research psychiatrist, Dr. Volkow pioneered the use of brain imaging to investigate how substance use affects brain functions. In particular, her studies have documented how changes in the dopamine system affect the functions of brain regions involved with reward and self-control in addiction. She has also made important contributions to the neurobiology of obesity, ADHD, and aging.

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[06:09] Cadaver homework.

[09:07] The Trotsky connection.

[17:07] How Nora’s father viewed the role of science.

[20:59] Julian Villarreal.

[27:38] A perspective of perseverance.

[33:48] Instilling perseverance in younger scientists.

[35:08] Dancing with Demerol.

[40:05] The current state of addiction in the US.

[44:28] The War on Drugs.

[49:42] Increasing societal confidence in therapeutic psychedelics.

[55:38] Advice for researchers seeking more federal funding.