Skip to main content

Research

The NIAAA is the lead agency for U.S. research on the causes, consequences, prevention and treatment of alcohol use disorder and alcohol-related problems.

Laboratory of Neuroimaging

Contact Information

  • Lab: 1 (301) 402-0868

Overview of the Lab

LNI uses brain imaging (PET, MRI and simultaneous PET/MRI) to study the neurocircuitry that underlies the rewarding effects of drugs of abuse and of natural reinforcers and their disruption in diseases of addiction and obesity. For this purpose we study how reward circuits modulate executive function (self-control), interoception, and motivation in the normal human brain including an understanding of the role of brain dopamine signaling, functional brain network interactions and genetics. We evaluate the disruption of these interactions in substance use disorder and morbid obesity, which are disorders characterized by deficits in self-control and reward sensitivity. We also focus on methodological studies to advance the tools to study function of the human brain including development of PET radiotracers, which is focused on the development of ligands to map epigenetic processes, development of analytical tools to help analyze and understand the underlying physiology behind the dynamically complex patterns of brain networks.

Research Projects

Lab Members

Selected Publications

Other Lab Resources

Looking for U.S. government information and services?
Visit USA.gov(link is external)