Showing kids the science behind addiction - in a hands-on way they wont forget

If the science of addiction sounds like a dry subject that calls for long lectures and scads of statistics, what you’re about to read will probably surprise you. It sure surprised some of the kids who took part in these events.

But that’s the point: to show just how fascinating the field of addiction science can be with the right experts, a brainy demonstration and exposure to cutting-edge research. 

Christopher Cowan, Ph.D., has led a trio of addiction science educational events for junior high and high school students through the Charleston County Public Library System in recent months. He’s a professor and chair of the Department of Neuroscience at the Medical University of South Carolina, who includes drug and alcohol use disorders among his areas of research.

 

“One of the things that we want to do is introduce students to research science as a career path. Everybody knows about going to medical school and dental school, but the fact that one can have a career in biomedical research is something that people often don't even realize is possible until maybe they're in college or later, if ever,” Cowan said.

“And the other is raising awareness about what substance use disorder is and the challenges that it raises. This is a brain disease. This is not a weak-will issue, right? So we’re trying to get that message out about the underlying biology of substance use disorder. And that it's a medical condition that needs to be treated, and that we need to understand it better to know how to treat it.”

He and other addiction science specialists from MUSC have shared that message during events at the Dorchester Road and Otranto Road libraries in North Charleston and on the MUSC campus in Charleston.

“We talk a little bit about who we are and our career paths to get to where we are as researchers in this space. We talk about biomedical research and the challenges of finding treatments for substance use disorder.”

And then, things get either fascinating or gross, depending on the kid. “We bring out a human brain and spinal cord, and we let the kids who want to hold it put on gloves and hold the brain, and we talk to them about the different parts and what they do.” 

 

His team also does an eye-catching demonstration on nerve conduction. “We put two little electrodes on the forearm and back of the hand of a kid volunteer. It connects to this little machine. When they squeeze their hand, it creates an electrical signal in the ulnar nerve as the muscles contract. The machine receives that and sends a signal to the other person attached to the machine – usually one of us from MUSC – and we receive the electrical pulse. It makes the other person’s hand twitch. The kids always love it.”

They also learned about low-intensity focused ultrasound, which is being studied for its potential to help people fight addiction through targeted deep-brain neuromodulation. “A study just came out showing that the ultrasound reduced craving and relapse rates in opioid use disorder patients. So that's great news and very promising. This is state-of-the-art stuff that we’re exposing the kids to.”

He hopes that exposure will stick with them as they think about the future. “One of the messages that I'm trying to convey through outreach programs is the important role of fundamental research in creating the next generation of treatments for what have been chronically untreatable or poorly treatable conditions, particularly when it comes to mental health,” Cowan said.

“These have been a really difficult thing for medicine to effectively treat. And we need to understand how the brain works to be able to intervene. And so places like MUSC are on the leading edge of substance use disorder research and substance use disorder treatments.”