Research Interests:
My research lies at the intersection of psychology and cognitive neuroscience, with a focus on the etiopathogenesis and treatment of addiction. I integrate contemporary theoretical frameworks, advanced statistical modeling, and multimodal neuroimaging methods—including electroencephalography (EEG), with event-related potentials (ERPs), and voxel-based whole-brain functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and functional connectivity analyses—to investigate core neurobehavioral traits such as incentive salience, reward processing, cognitive control, and stress physiology that contribute to the pathophysiology of addiction. Adopting a translational perspective, my work seeks to elucidate the mechanisms underlying individual differences in vulnerability to addiction and to inform the development of more effective prevention and intervention strategies. More broadly, my research program addresses three fundamental questions in addiction science: (1) Why do some individuals develop addiction while others do not? (2) What are the effects of alcohol and drugs on the brain? and (3) Why is it so difficult to change addictive behaviors and sustain recovery?