Brain difference and early substance use: Which comes first? with Alex Miller, PhD

In episode 4, Dr. Grant speaks with ⁠Alex P. Miller, PhD⁠, an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Indiana University School of Medicine. This conversation explores the intricate relationship between substance use, genetics, and brain structure, focusing on the ABCD study, which follows children over a decade to understand the onset of substance use and its effects on mental health. Dr. Alex Miller discusses the role of neuroimaging in identifying brain differences that may predispose individuals to substance use, the influence of genetics and environment, and the implications of these findings for understanding addiction and recovery.

Alex P. Miller, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Indiana University School of Medicine. Dr. Miller completed his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Missouri and a postdoctoral fellowship in substance use disorder genetics at Washington University School of Medicine. His research, supported by a K01 award from NIAAA, focuses on applying statistical genetics and neuroimaging data analysis to better understand the developmental neurogenetic etiology of substance use disorders and impulsive personality traits as a risk factor for the onset and progression of substance use disorders.