Marc Potenza, PhD, MD

Marc N. Potenza, PhD, MD, is the Steven M. Southwick Professor of Psychiatry, in the Child Study Center, and of Neuroscience; Director, Division of Addiction Research at Yale; Director, Center of Excellence in Gambling Research; Director, Yale Program for Research on Impulsivity and Impulse Control Disorders; Director, Women and Addictive Disorders, Women’s Health Research at Yale. His research is focused on the substance and nonsubstance (behavioral) addictions, with the latter including excessive or problematic engagement in gambling, gaming, internet use, sex (including pornography use), shopping or eating. He and his group utilize multiple approaches including brain imaging (fMRI, sMRI, DTI and PET), genetic, pharmacological, behavioral, cognitive, survey, qualitative and other assessments. Data from completed and ongoing studies that are available include those from or involving youth (particularly adolescents) and adults at-risk or with addictions, including longitudinal data and large datasets like ABCD. Data from multiple modalities (e.g., relating brain imaging measures to clinical outcomes in the treatment of addictions) are available from completed and ongoing studies. Similarly, data from completed and ongoing studies of mother/child interactions that include maternal neural responses to infant stimuli in substance-using and nonsubstance-using mothers are available for study. His group also has been investigating the neural correlates of spirituality and how spirituality and recovery capital may operate in people with addictions. He and others have worked to develop an app to deliver cognitive behavioral therapy to people with gambling problems and are now testing the app in a randomized clinical trial, with intentions for further implementation following the trial.