Dr. Grant speaks with Alex P. Miller, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Indiana University School of Medicine. This conversation explores the intricate relationship between substance use, genetics, and brain structure, focusing on the ABCD study, which follows children over a decade to understand the onset of substance use and its effects on mental health. Dr. Alex Miller discusses the role of neuroimaging in identifying brain differences that may predispose individuals to substance use, the influence of genetics and environment, and the implications of these findings for understanding addiction and recovery.

Takeaways

• The ABCD study involves nearly 12,000 children and tracks their development over time.
• Neuroimaging can reveal brain differences that may predispose individuals to substance use.
• Genetics and environment interact to influence the risk of substance use disorders.
• Impulsivity is linked to both personality traits and substance use initiation.
• The caudate plays a role in reward processing and may influence cannabis use.
• Brain structure can change over time, indicating resilience in recovery from substance use.
• Findings suggest that larger brain volumes may not correlate with better outcomes.
• The study highlights the importance of early environmental influences on brain development.
• Understanding the relationship between brain structure and substance use is complex and multifaceted.
• Future research will continue to explore the dynamic interplay between genetics, environment, and substance use.

Chapters

00:00 -Preview

00:12 - Dr. Miller's background

01:39 - The chicken and egg problem

02:08 - Dr. Miller's research & the ABCD Study

05:18 - Genetics & epigenetics, Nature v. Nurture

07:33 - Impulsivity and Substance Use

09:19 - Neuroimaging techniques used to evaluate brain size

13:16 - Findings on brain structure and size

16:02 - Cannabis use and brain structure

21:29 - The Dynamic Relationship Between Brain and Behavior

22:11 - Implications of the research findings

25:27 - Where do brain differences come from?

27:18 - Outro

Studies

Neuroanatomical Variability and Substance Use Initiation in Late Childhood and Early Adolescence