Peter Soyster

Psychoactive drugs are chemicals that temporarily alter the way our brain functions, which results in changes to how we think and feel. Whether taken medically or recreationally, these chemicals can have both positive and negative effects. In psychology, understanding the effects of drugs on the brain is important because, depending on the person, use of certain drugs can lead to better or worse mental health. This talk will explain how drugs work in the brain and will show examples of how clinical psychologists work to determine the effects of drugs. I will also present cutting-edge research, which uses machine learning to develop personalized treatments for substance use disorders.