Francesca Filbey

As the landscape of cannabis use undergoes rapid transformations in the U.S. and worldwide, this presentation delves into our current understanding of how cannabis affects the brain. The talk will describe neuroimaging studies in long-term, heavy cannabis users that address: (1) the contemporary methods employed to investigate the effects of cannabis on the brain, (2) disparities in brain structure and function observed between cannabis users and non-users, and (3) the existing challenges in scientific research on cannabis.

Dr. Francesca Filbey is a Professor and Director of Cognitive Neuroscience Research of Addictive Disorders at the Center for BrainHealth, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at The University of Texas at Dallas, and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Department of Psychiatry. She also holds the Endowed Bert Moore Chair in BrainHealth. She is the author of The Neuroscience of Addiction, as well as a co- author on an edited book and several book chapters. She is on the editorial board of the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse. Dr. Filbey is an active grant reviewer for national and international funding agencies and a Board Member for the College on Problems

of Drug Dependence and Associate Member of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. The overarching goal of Dr. Filbey’s research is to advance the understanding of biobehavioral mechanisms related to addiction with the goal of enhancing early detection and intervention. She incorporates translational approaches from the fields of cognitive neuroscience, neuroimaging, genetics, neuropharmacology, psychology, and psychiatry. Current projects involve the determination of these effects using neuroimaging tools (sMRI, DTI, task and resting state fMRI, EEG), neuromodulation (tMS, taVNS), genetics and computational modeling following exposure to cannabinoids (THC, CBD).

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