University of Southern California Health, Emotion, & Addiction Laboratory

The University of Southern California Health, Emotion, & Addiction Laboratory (USC-HEAL) conducts research on the etiology of drug addiction. A broad emphasis is to uncover why some people are prone to addiction while others are not. More specifically, the laboratory focuses on identifying novel psychobiological factors that influence drug use, such as one's emotional traits or genetic background. Most of the work is focused on tobacco, alcohol, and drugs. However, psychobiological determinants of other addictions as well as other health-related behaviors (e.g., eating, risk-taking, exercise) are also of interest. Research conducted is transdisciplinary in nature, and studies utilize both experimental and survey-based approaches.

Persistent use of tobacco and other drugs is a major risk factor for disease, death, and disability. Thus, it is important to understand the reasons why people continue to use drugs, despite knowing about their detrimental health effects. Better understanding of the factors that underlie drug addiction will lead to the development of more effective and innovative interventions. The overall goal of the USC-HEAL is to generate research findings that inform the prevention and treatment of substance use and other behavioral risk factors for disease.