Mary Anne Hutchison
E-mail Mary Anne
Curriculum Vita
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My research interests lie in adolescent drug use, and how such use may impact drug use later in life. Since prior drug history has been shown to effect later drug use, and drug use is often initiated in adolescence, it is important to understand the specific long-term effects of adolescent drug use. My work has focused on how adolescent drug use affects the motivational properties of drugs taken in adulthood. The abuse potential of a drug can be viewed as a balance between its rewarding and aversive properties, and any factors that affect these properties may alter the response to the drug. For example, if something were to decrease the aversive properties of a drug without affecting its rewarding aspects, its abuse potential may increase. Recently, I have been looking at how the use of drugs such as nicotine and alcohol (commonly considered to be "gateway" drugs) during adolescence may effect the aversive properties of other drugs such as cocaine in adulthood. Hopefully, my work will contribute to the understanding of factors that influence drug use and abuse.
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