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Paul Clarke is a Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at McGill University. His research interests encompass addiction, focusing on the cigarette habit, which is one of the leading causes of death and disease worldwide. His work examines the effectiveness of drugs designed to aid in smoking cessation, which he has found to be largely ineffective. Clarke explores the complex role of nicotine in tobacco addiction, noting its unique characteristics compared to other drugs like heroin and cocaine, particularly its subtle positive reinforcement properties. He believes that standard animal models do not adequately capture the nuances of nicotine's effects, prompting his work to create more relevant models that probe the behavioral and pharmacological mechanisms contributing to tobacco addiction. His research also investigates rat ultrasonic vocalizations, which are indicative of the animal's affective state, suggesting they could be a valuable complement to traditional behavioral tests for motivation. Clarke is applying biosensors in living rodents in collaboration with colleagues to enhance the understanding of addiction mechanisms.
Department: Department of Medicine. Program: Experimental Medicine.