Meet our 2025 EBPS Plenary Speakers and Awardees
2025 EBPS Awardees
Distinguished Achievement Award
Early Career Award
Click on the tab to see the full programme in each day
8:30 - 9:15 Plenary lecture
Angela Roberts (UK)
Prefrontal regulation of emotion: insights into anhedonia, anxiety and pharmacotherapy
9:30 - 11:00 Featured Symposia 1
Global Perspectives on Neuropsychiatric Research: Stress, Cognition, and Innovative Therapeutics.
Chair: Princess Felix (USA)
Vidita Vaidya (India)
Neurocircuitry and Molecular Regulation of Stress and Emotion in Mood Disorders
Oritoke Okeowo (Nigeria)
Novel Pharmacological Approaches for Stress Related Disorders
Inna Gaisler-Salomon (Israel)
Transgenerational Stress and Glutamate Dysregulation in Cognitive Dysfunction
Gwladys Ngoupaye (Cameroon)
Cameroonian Medicinal Plants: Mechanistic Insights on Stress-Induced Cognitive Deficits
11:00 - 11:30 Coffee break
11:30 - 13:00 Parallel symposia
Symposium 1 · Endocannabinoids and sex-dependent behavior: Insights from development to adulthood
Chair: Carmen Sandi (Switzerland)
Miriam Mellis (Italy)
Sex-specific phenotypes induced by prenatal perturbation of endocannabinoid signaling
Olivier Manzoni (France)
Lifelong sex-specific impacts of prenatal cannabis exposure
Arnau Busquets Garcia (Spain)
Cannabinoid receptors and higher-order conditioning
Silvie Ruigrok (Switzerland)
Estrous cycle modulation of anxiety and motivation - focus on the endocannabinoid system
Symposium 2 · Recent advances in addiction vulnerability in animal models and humans
Chair: Yavin Shaham (USA)
Nazzareno Cannella (Italy)
Multisymptomatic screening reveals differences of addiction behavior and treatment outcome
Ginevra D’Ottavio (USA)
Exploring addiction vulnerability in preclinical models using drug vs social choice tasks
Irene Perini (Sweden)
Choice preference for alcohol over a natural reward in heavy versus light drinkers
Xiaosi Gu (USA)
A computational mechanism linking momentary craving and reward learning
Symposium 3 · A translational perspective on safety learning and safety behaviours
Chair: Joanna Yau (Australia)
Heidi Meyer (USA)
Experience with safety learning can scale later fear responding
Alba López Moraga (Belgium)
Differential effects of chronic stress on active avoidance procedures
Patrick Laing (USA)
Neural and behavioral mechanisms of Pavlovian safety learning
Sarah Tashjian (Australia)
vmPFC integration of safety information in humans
13:00 - 15:00 Lunch and Posters
15:00 - 16:30 Parallel Symposia
Symposium 4 · Innovations and Challenges of Psychedelics in Behavioral Health Disorders
Chair: Kathryn Cunningham (USA)
Kathryn Cunningham (USA)
Probing Mechanisms and Novel 5-HT2R Modulators as Psychedelic-Inspired Therapeutics for Cocaine Use Disorder
Kurt Rasmussen (USA)
Therapeutic potential for non-hallucinogenic psychoplastogens
Friederike Holze (Switzerland)
Clinical pharmacology of different psychedelic drugs in healthy human volunteers
Leah Mayo (Canada)
Challenges and opportunities in psychedelic clinical trial design
Symposium 5 · Using Computational & Cognitive Methods to Study Substance Use Over the Addiction Course.
Chair: Justin Strickland (USA)
Justin Strickland (USA)
Evaluating Value-Based Decision-Making Mechanisms Underlying Opioid Use Disorder
Amber Copeland (UK)
Modelling Changes in Value-Based Decision-Making in Response to Contingency Management
Samuel Acuff (USA)
Exploring Trajectories Between Behavioral Economic Reward and Cannabis Use
José C. Perales (Spain)
The Role of Emotion Regulation Mechanisms in Gambling and Gaming Craving
Symposium 6 · Motivational and cognitive effects of manipulating the dopamine transporter: Potential therapeutic actions of atypical DAT inhibitors.
Chair: Mercè Correa (Spain)
Mercè Correa (Spain)
Vigor and work selection after bupropion administration in mice
John D. Salamone (USA)
Effort-related motivational effects of novel atypical DAT inhibitors in rats of both sexes
Jana Lubec (Austria)
Neurochemical, physiological, and cognitive effects of dopamine transporter inhibitors in aging rats
Marta Pardo (Spain)
DAT transgenic rats as a new model for vulnerability to stress
16:45 - 18:15 Parallel Symposia
Symposium 7 · From synapse to nucleus: an integrated view of neuronal ensembles
Chair: F. Javier Rubio (USA)
Eisuke Koya (UK)
Environmental enrichment suppresses food seeking and induces Prelimbic ensemble overdrive
Leslie Ramsey (USA)
Searching for the engram in prefrontal cortical neuronal ensembles: mechanisms that mediate drug and social learning
Sophie Tronel (France)
Looking for the engram of PTSD-like memory: focus on the role of NMDA receptors of the Anterior Cingulate cortex in traumatic memory maintenance
F. Javier Rubio (USA)
Plasticity changes in synapses from neuronal ensembles: seeking the synaptic ensemble
Symposium 8 · Pharmacology and Neural Mechanisms of Comorbid Pain and Drug Use
Chair: Nicholas W. Gilpin (USA)
Lucía Hipólito-Cubedo (Spain)
Modeling negative affective states comorbid with pain and drug intake: insights from rat models and translational perspectives
Jose Moron-Concepcion (USA)
Sex-specific effects of inflammatory pain on fentanyl self-administration and modulation by ovarian hormones
Joyce T. Da Silva (USA)
Periaqueductal Gray (PAG) Connectivity and Its Role in Chronic Pain and Addiction in Osteoarthritis: A Whole-Brain Approach
Nicholas W. Gilpin (USA)
Vaporized Cannabinoid Inhalation Effects on Chronic Inflammatory Pain Outcomes
Symposium 9 · Behavioural and neurobiological mechanisms of choice in rodent models of addiction
Chair: Nathan Marchant (Netherlands)
Nathan Marchant (Netherlands)
Role of anterior insula cortex in choice between alcohol and social reward
Marco Venniro (USA)
Neurobiological mechanisms mediating social and drug craving
Youna Vandaele (France)
Investigation of the decision-making processes underlying choice between drug and nondrug rewards
Jamie Peters (USA)
Mu opioid receptors and heroin vs. alcohol choice
18:30 - 19:30 Parallel Nanosymposia
Nanosymposium 1 · Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: from the bench to the clinic
Chair: Santiago Mora (UK)
Xavier Navarro (Spain)
Pharmacological targeting Kv7 and TSPO as a therapeutical strategy for ALS
Silvia Corrochano (Spain)
Diet impact in modifying motor-cognitive phenotype in a mouse model of TDP43 proteinopathy
Beatriz Vélez-Gómez (Spain)
Comprehensive pharmacological approach in ALS: quality of life beyond motor symptoms
Ilary Allodi (UK)
Gene therapy strategies for the treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Nanosymposium 2 · Cannabinoid regulation of behaviour: addiction, cell specificity and development
Chair: Alejandro Higuera-Matas (Spain)
Luigi Bellocchio (France)
Cellular and Sub-cellular targets of cannabinoids: from signaling to behavior and beyond
Mireia Medrano (Spain)
The role of PPAR-gamma as a modulator of cocaine-seeking behaviour in male and female mice
Alejandro Higuera-Matas (Spain)
Exposure to cannabinoids during adolescence as a risk factor for psychopathology
Erika Zamberletti (Italy)
Sex-dependent consequences of adolescent exposure to different THC and CBD combinations
Nanosymposium 3 • Beyond D1 and D2 Dopamine Receptor-Expressing Neurons: Modulating Circuits and Behavior
Chair: Michelle W. Antoine (USA)
David Haggerty (USA)
D1/D2 Input to Npas1+ GPe Neurons Shapes Motor and Reward Actions
Bernard Le Foll (Canada)
Dopamine D3 Receptors in Nicotine Addiction: From Preclinical to Clinical Studies
Melissa Perreault (Canada)
Exploring the Functional Role of Gq-Coupled Dopamine Receptors in the Brain
Michelle W. Antoine (USA)
Roles of Striatal Neurons Co-Expressing Dopamine D1/D2 Receptors in Autism Mouse Models.
8:30 - 9:15 Plenary lecture
Marta Miquel (Spain)
Cerebellar modulation of drug-induced reward: How Cinderella came to the ball
9:30 - 11:00 Featured Symposia 2
Advanced Technologies and Big Data in Behavioral Pharmacology and Psychiatry
Chair: Brenda Curtis (USA)
Brenda Curtis (USA)
Digital Surveillance for Substance Use Trends: Social Media and Behavioral Data Analysis
Peter R. Chai (USA)
Smartphone phenotypes of PrEP adherence in substance use
Ignacio Obeso (Spain)
NeuroCognitive Dynamics in Pre-Addiction States Using Big Data and Neurotechnology
Stephanie Carreiro (Spain)
Wearable Sensors to Understand, Predict, and Respond to Substance Use Treatment
11:00 - 11:30 Coffee break
11:30 - 13:00 Parallel symposia
Symposium 10 · Triggered Temptations: New Findings on How Environmental Cues Fuel Addiction and Gambling
Chair: Anna Samaha (Canada)
Anna Samaha (Canada)
Modeling cue-triggered relapse to cocaine use in rats
Muhammad Parvaz (USA)
Neurobiology of incubation of cue-reactivity in individuals with stimulants use disorders
Catharine Winstanley (Canada)
Win-paired cues drive risky choice through divergent mechanisms in male and female rats
Rajita Sinha (USA)
Drugs, Stress Cues or Both? Prospective effects on Craving and Drug Use in the Real World.
Symposium 11 · Role of microglia in synaptic plasticity associated with substance use disorders
Chair: Ingrid Reverte (Italy)
Daniele Caprioli (Italy)
Microglia and AMPA receptor plasticity during cocaine withdrawal
Marie-Eve Tremblay (Canada)
The outcomes of cannabinoids and psychedelics on microglia
Jacqueline Barker (USA)
Neuroimmune mechanisms of dysregulated cocaine seeking in a mouse model of HIV infection
Liliana M. Cancela (Argentina)
Microglia and Glutamatergic Mechanisms in Stress-Induced Vulnerability to Cocaine Addiction
Symposium 12 · New insights on individual differences in pain and interoception using dense sampling techniques in humans. Chair: Siri Leknes (Norway)
Micah Allen (Denmark)
Brain-gut functional interactions in response to semagludide treatment: a dense sampling N-of-1 fMRI study
India Morrison (Sweden)
Iterative dyadic social interactions reveal context-sensitive neurohormonal changes
Karin Jensen (Sweden)
Neural learning mechanisms in the development of nociplastic pain: a dense sampling prospective longitudinal study of chronic non-specific pain
Marie Eikemo (Norway)
Predicting opioid responses and opioid use in surgery patients in the U.S. and Norway
13:00 - 15:00 Lunch and Posters
15:00 - 16:30 Parallel Symposia
Symposium 13 · The Stress of the Trip: Interactions between psychedelics and the stress response
Chair: Ana Deutsch (Canada)
Ana Deutsch (Canada)
The impact of LSD and MDMA on stress-related biomarkers & the eCB system in healthy humans
Sarah Gibson Cook (Italy)
Psilocybin induces sex- and context-specific recruitment of the stress axis
Helena Aicher (Switzerland)
Impact of Ayahuasca-Inspired DMT/Harmine Formulation on Stress Reactivity & the ANS in Healthy Humans
Margareth Nogueira (USA)
5-MeO-DMT effects on anxiety-related behavior and gene expression
Symposium 14 · Beyond Reward Prediction Error: translational conceptualizations, findings, and applications that shed a new light on dopamine’s function in complex behavior. Chair: Rita Goldstein (USA)
Vijay Mohan K Namboodiri (USA)
Extinction and retrospective learning
Geoffrey Schoenbaum (USA)
Striatal dopamine signals errors in cue prediction during sensory preconditioning
Rita Goldstein (USA)
Methylphenidate- and reconsolidation-enhanced drug memory forgetting in human addiction
Roshan Cools (Netherlands)
Role of dopamine in controllability inference for human cognitive control
Symposium 15 · Addictive Substances and Their Impact on Brain and Molecular Pathways
Chair: Mohamed Kabbaj (USA)
Stefania Maccari (France)
Prenatal stress effects on alcohol drinking: role of oxytocin and metabotropic receptors
Mary K Lobo (USA)
Perinatal fentanyl exposure impacts behavioral and brain molecular mechanisms
Mohamed Kabbaj (USA)
Role of medium spiny neurons in ketamine reinstatement
Marcelo Wood (USA)
Investigating the opposing roles of the nuclear orphan receptor NR4A2 in drug-seeking and relapse of drug-seeking
16:45 - 18:15 Parallel Symposia
Symposium 16 · Oxytocin: A promising old acquaintance
Chair: Rossella Ventura (Italy)
Valery Grinevich (Germany)
Oxytocin signaling in the prefrontal cortex
Inga D. Neumann (Germany)
Prosocial, anxiolytic, and Stress-protective effects of oxytocin in rodents
Bice Chini (Italy)
Long-lasting effects of Early life Oxytocin Administration in mice models of neurodevelopmental disorders
Simona Cabib (Italy)
Role of oxytocin in the development of the motivational salience neurocircuitry
Symposium 17 · New insights into neuromodulatory underpinnings of adaptive behaviour
Chair: Philip Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel (Australia)
Emmanuel Valjent (France)
Deconstructing the role of dopamine D2 receptors in motivated behaviors
Philip Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel (Australia)
Monoamine release during instrumental versus Pavlovian aversive learning
Laura Corbit (Canada)
Locus coeruleus activity promotes learning updates following changes in reward
Jay Bertran-Gonzalez (Australia)
At D2-neuron’s discretion: revealing dominant D2-to D1-neuron modulation in learning
Symposium 18 · The use of non-human primates in addiction-related research
Chair: Christelle Baunez (France)
Daniel Borgatti (USA)
Role of sleep disruption in cognitive impairment associated with methamphetamine use in rhesus monkeys
Paul Czoty (USA)
Nociceptin-orphanin FQ peptide (NOP) receptors as promising targets for substance use disorder medications: evidence from nonhuman primate models.
Christelle Baunez (France)
Motivation for cocaine is reduced by subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation in macaques
Anders Fink-Jensen (Denmark)
Effect of semaglutide and other glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists on alcohol consumption in alcohol-preferring vervet monkeys
18:30 - 19:30 Roundtable on animal research
18:30 - 19: 30 Roundtable IDEA
9:30 - 13:00 Pre-meeting workshop
From bench to bedside: how to improve the translational aspect of your research
Organized by Merce Correa (Spain)
Topics:
Applied behavioral and computational tools IA.
Laura Lopez Cruz, Anna Stuckert and Santiago Mora (United Kingdom).
How to deal with the pharma industry.
Trevor Robbins (United Kingdom) and John Salamone (USA).
12:00 - 15:00 Registration Opens
15:00 - 15:10 Welcome EBPS 2025
15:10 - 16:00 Travel Awardee Data Blitz
16:05 - 17:00 Panel discussion on Integration, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Marian Jöels (Netherlands)
17:00 - 17:30 Break and Mentor-Mentee meeting
17:30 - 19:00 Awardee Ceremony
Early career Investigator Award lecture Ida Fredriksson (Sweden)
The role of the ventral subiculum and claustrum in incubation of opioid craving
Distinguished Investigator Award lecture Dora Duka (United Kingdom)
A life on the borders of drug addiction
19:00 - 20:30 Opening Reception
9:00 - 9:45 Plenary Lecture
John Cryan (Ireland)
Bugs, drugs & behaviour: microbiome as a key regulator of brain function across the lifespan
10:00 - 11:30 Parallel symposia
Symposium 19 · The role of prefrontal cortical networks in flexible and compulsive reward-related behavior. Chair: Ingo Willuhn (Netherlands)
Alicia Izquierdo (USA)
Frontocortical circuits in learning under uncertainty
Ingo Willuhn (Netherlands)
Cortico-striatal circuits mediate compulsive behavior in schedule-induced polydipsia
Frank Meye (Netherlands)
A prefrontal cortex-lateral hypothalamus circuit controls stress-driven food intake
Stephanie Borgland (Canada)
Effect of astrocyte dysfunction in the OFC on goal-directed behaviour
Symposium 20 · The Dual Impact of Cannabis: Chronic and Acute Effects of Cannabinoids on Human Behaviour. Chair: Sara Kroll (Switzerland)
Lukas Eggenberger (Switzerland)
Linking THC and CBD Hair Analytes to Cognitive and Mental Health Outcomes
Ziva Cooper (USA)
Sex-dependent effects of cannabis: Does use frequency impact outcomes?
Amir Englund (UK)
The interactive effects of THC and CBD in healthy volunteers and schizophrenia patients
Connor Haggarty (USA)
Harnessing the cannabinoid system for the treatment of PTSD
Symposium 21 · Neurohormonal dysregulations underlying alcohol and opioid use disorders
Chair: Brendan Tunstall (USA)
Brendan Tunstall (USA)
Oxytocin against hyperalgesia and intensified alcohol drinking in alcohol dependence
Kristen Pleil (USA)
Estrogen enhancement of risky alcohol drinking behavior
Brandon Warren (USA)
Novel MOR-partial agonist against opioid self-administration, withdrawal, and pain
Hayley Manke (USA)
Role of PKCε in Alcohol Dependence
11:30 - 12:00 Coffee break
12:00 - 13:30 Parallel symposia
Symposium 22 · New therapies for psychostimulant addiction
Chairs: Malgorzata Filip/Christian P. Müller (Poland/Germany)
Malgorzata Filip (Poland)
Cocaine seeking during abstinence: effects of esketamine and Tat-NR2B9c peptide
Judith R. Homberg (Netherlands)
Controlling cocaine reward and self-administration by targeting dopaminergic and serotonergic storage vesicles
Rainer Spanagel (Germany)
Cell type-specific multi-omics analysis of cocaine use disorder in the addiction circuitry reveals new drug targets addiction circuitry reveals new drug targets
Christian P. Müller (Germany)
The pharmacotherapy of psychostimulant use disorders – past, present, and future ideas
Symposium 23 · Sex Differences in the Risk, Pathophysiology, and Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Disorders. Chair: Christina Dalla (Greece)
Debra Bangasser (USA)
Sex differences in the effects of early resource scarcity on motivated behavior
Christina Dalla (Greece)
Sex differences in psycho-pharmacological effects of GPER1 estrogen membrane receptor
Patrizia Campolongo (Italy)
Sex differences in fear expression and persistence in an animal model of PTSD
Ivan Nalvarte (Sweden)
Sex hormones, gender, and the aging brain
Symposium 24 · Uncovering the behavioral and biological factors underlying individual differences in risk for alcohol use disorder. Chair: Andrew Holmes (USA)
Esi Domi (Italy)
Individual differences and neural substrates in compulsive alcohol self- administration
Anna Beyeler (France)
Contribution of the insular cortex to persistent alcohol drinking in mice
Andrew Holmes (USA)
Artificial intelligence-based prediction of individual differences in mouse alcohol binge-drinking
Markus Heilig (Sweden)
Massive single-nucleus transcriptional profiling reveals a novel molecular substrate of compulsive alcohol use
13:30 - 14:00 EBPS Assembly and Closing Remarks
14:00 - 14:30 EBPS Executive Committee Meeting (by invitation including new members)
Sponsors
We are extremely grateful to the support of Aelis Farma for its Daycare Initiative, which will cover the costs of onsite childcare for those in need.
Please indicate in the registration form if you will be traveling with children and take advantage of this opportunity.