Department News
Studying Links between High-risk Behavior and Neurocognitive Problems

People with HIV who also abuse drugs are at high risk for unemployment, continued unsafe sexual and injection practices, and impaired driving. Eileen Martin, Ph.D, professor of psychology and neurology in Psychiatry, studies subtle defects in memory and decision making in HIV positive, polydrug users. She has shown that long-term drug abuse increases vulnerability to HIV-related brain damage. Her group recently began a large study of how MDMA ("ecstasy") and other club drugs effect neurocognitive function, now a critical issue among adolescents and young adults. Both programs focus on the relationship between neurocognitive problems and critical "real world" problems such as HIV risk behavior and adherence to complex anti-HIV drug regimens.

Dr. Martin is currently principal investigator of two five-year grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. She collaborates with UIC and Veterans Administration faculty with expertise in epidemiology, neurobiology, substance abuse treatment, infectious disease and functional brain imaging. These studies involve research and community clinical services, furthering the Department's commitment to urban health and providing care to under-served populations.

Dr. Martin, who serves on the Board of Directors for the American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology and was recently elected Fellow of the American Psychological Association, has begun developing a new Addictions Neuroscience Program. The program will promote collaborative work among UIC faculty specializing in neuroscience, drug abuse and related patient populations.