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Alcohol and drug dependency causes enormous suffering for those affected and large costs to society. Markus Heilig investigates methods that can be the key to effective treatment.

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A research group under the leadership of Professor Markus Heilig has identified an enzyme whose production is turned off in nerve cells of the frontal lobe when alcohol dependence develops.

A new treatment for severe depression is to be introduced at the Linköping University Hospital. It uses magnetic stimulation of nerve cells deep in the brain. The method is currently in use at a very limited number of hospitals worldwide.

For the first time in the world’s history, people with alcohol addiction will be treated with magnetic stimulation of structures deep within the brain. The study is led by Professor Markus Heilig.

Changes in a brain signalling system contribute to the development of alcohol addiction-like behaviour in rats, according to a new study led by researchers at LiU. The findings are published in Science and indicate a similar mechanism in humans.

Researchers at Linköping University have discovered a biological mechanism that increases the strength with which fear memories are stored in the brain. The study identifies shared mechanisms behind anxiety and alcohol dependence.

A medication that boosts the body’s own cannabis-like substances, shows promise to help the brain un-learn fear memories when these are no longer meaningful. This according to an early-stage, experimental study on healthy volunteers at LiU.

A small group of nerve cells in the brain determines whether an individual continues to consume alcohol even when it has negative consequences. The scientists have identified a mechanism that may be a suitable target for treatment by medication.

Markus Heilig is one of five medical doctors active in research appointed to be Wallenberg Clinical Scholars. He receives a research grant of SEK 15 million to investigate why some, but not all, people become dependent on alcohol.