The public health impact of these disorders is huge. One in seven working-age adults in the U.S. suffers from alcohol dependence and its sequelae. One in 13 is dependent on other psychoactive drugs such as cocaine, heroin, or marijuana.
Tobacco dependence is still more common.
Mental disorders do not spare the young or the old. In later life, the dementing disorders take their toll. Without effective methods of prevention and control, the burden of the dementias will grow enormously as the population ages. Our work aims to discover the causes of these disorders, and to identify the factors that promote or attenuate their occurrence, persistence, or severity. Having identified such causes and risk factors, we devise and test methods of intervention that may prevent the disorders or limit their consequences.