A B.C. neuroscientist has received a $2.5-million grant to research magnetic stimulation to treat substance-use disorders.
Nanaimosa国际传媒檚 Travis Baker, an assistant professor at Rutgers University-Newark, is working with robot-assisted transcranial magnetic stimulation technology to alter the brainsa国际传媒檚 response to addictive substances.
The technology applies precisely directed magnetic pulses to alter the brainsa国际传媒檚 reward-response circuitry. It targets the anterior cingulate cortex sa国际传媒� the portion of the human brain that, when stimulated, releases dopamine, the hormone which produces the sense of well-being and pleasure and motivation to repeat the behaviour.
In cases of addiction, that part of the brain can become hyper-stimulated and create an overwhelming desire to seek out the addictive substance or behaviour.
sa国际传媒淸It] is really sensitive to these drug cues, so it creates this bias in the systemsa国际传媒a国际传媒� Baker said. sa国际传媒淲e know that [transcranial magnetic stimulation] has the ability to increase and decrease neural activity sa国际传媒� so if it has potential to do that, would I be able to increase and decrease reward-related activity?sa国际传媒�
The $2.5 million grant from the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse sa国际传媒� part of the National Institutes of Health sa国际传媒� will cover two phases of Bakersa国际传媒檚 research over five years. The first phase of the grant will help him fine-tune the targeting of the system to optimize the stimulation or inhibiting of the reward response.
The second phase will test the method on smokers by applying stimulation while they perform a task for a monetary reward, then replaying the scenario, but applying an inhibiting protocol when they perform a task for a drug-related reward. Baker hopes to reverse the smokerssa国际传媒� bias to a preference for money over nicotine.
sa国际传媒淭he whole point of this grant is to try and figure out where on the surface of the skull sa国际传媒� or circuits of the brain sa国际传媒� to put this current,sa国际传媒� he said.
He sees the potential for the results of his work, not as a stand-alone cure for addiction, but as an additional aid in treatment.
Baker was 22 when he decided his future wasnsa国际传媒檛 working in sawmills or oil rigs where hesa国际传媒檇 been working, and to go to university to follow his longtime passion for psychology and the sciences.
He graduated from Vancouver Island University with a bachelorsa国际传媒檚 degree in psychology in 2004 before moving on to University of Victoria where earned his masters degree in science and his PhD in cognitive neuroscience in 2012. He did post-doctoral work at the Montreal Neurological Institute until 2016 when he went to the U.S. to search out opportunities to continue his research and is now an assistant professor at Rutgers University-Newarksa国际传媒檚 Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neurosciences.
sa国际传媒淚 found a really good position here at Rutgers University,sa国际传媒� Baker said. sa国际传媒淚 was able to start up my own lab and get all the toys I wanted to carry on with the research that Isa国际传媒檇 been doing up to that point.sa国际传媒�
He said his inspiration for the work came through someone close to him who has suffered from drug addiction, and he has always been interested to read about philosophy, the human brain and similar subjects. It was in his first semester studying psychology at VIU that he realized he was where he belonged and he set about learning and absorbing as much as he could sa国际传媒� he credits professors Tony Robertson and Elliott Marchant with guidance that helped set him on his career path.
This summer, Baker he hopes to return home to Vancouver Island to visit his family whom he hasnsa国际传媒檛 been with since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 a nice place to be,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淚 miss the Island, thatsa国际传媒檚 for sure.sa国际传媒�
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