From Our Neurons to Yours Can brain science save addiction policy? | Keith Humphreys
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Jul 10, 2025 Join Keith Humphreys, the Esther Ting Memorial Professor at Stanford Medicine and co-director of the Stanford Network on Addiction Policy, as he dives into the intersection of neuroscience and addiction policy. He dismantles the myth of addiction as a moral failing, emphasizing its biological roots and how understanding these can improve treatment. The discussion also highlights the need for compassionate policy, the importance of prevention, and how innovative therapies could reshape our future approach to addiction, making it more humane and effective.
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Addiction Is Brain Maladaptive Learning
- Addiction is caused by molecules in the brain that trick reward pathways into overvaluing drug use.
- This results in deeply maladaptive learning, not moral failure or bad character.
Disease Model Separates Compassion, Accountability
- Calling addiction a disease separates compassion from accountability for harmful actions.
- People with addiction are accountable, but brain differences make resisting harder for them than for others.
Neuroscience Enables Targeted Treatments
- Neuroscience identifies specific brain receptors where drugs act, enabling targeted treatments like naloxone and methadone.
- Alcohol and stimulant addiction are harder to treat due to their complex brain effects and lack of clear targets.