Sex‐specific neurobiological differences in addiction neuropathology: An educational pilot program for next generation STEM workforce

Abstract

AIMCalifornia State University Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) is located in central Los Angeles county, servicing a diverse community. This region is considered a hotspot for drug abuse due to a variety of factors, including a close proximity with the Mexico border, an abundance of transportation facilities to support trafficking, and a substantial population of several at‐risk groups. While graduates from CSUDH often go on to work in the community, these students do not yet receive the education in the factors leading to substance addiction. The aim of this program is to provide a set of courses which will train students on the latest addiction prevention and treatment research. The initial pilot course focused on sex‐specific and neurobiological corollaries to drug dependence.METHODSDuring the 2016–2018 academic years, 6 classes of senior undergraduate students were targeted for this program. Students worked individually and in small groups to prepare discussions on the neurobiology of addiction, following several original and secondary literature sources, including Michael Kuhar's The Addicted Brain (2011), peer‐reviewed publications and published abstracts from the several conferences (including Experimental Biology) from 2014–2017. Discussions with addiction researchers were also included. Students submitted research proposals to address potential gaps in the neuropharmacology literature, focusing on sex‐specific studies. Survey data were collected before and after the course to assess learning outcomes and career trajectories for these next generation STEM workforce students.RESULTSThis pilot program has been well‐received by the participating students. While it was clear that some students struggled with the content, all of them were personally engaged in the material. Indeed, many students openly shared their own experiences with drug dependence.CONCLUSIONStudents need earlier exposure to the neurobiology of drug abuse to support their success in this course. We will therefore offer a psychopharmacology course to students prior to taking this course.Support or Funding InformationCalifornia State University, Dominguez Hills Faculty Research GrantThis abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.