December 14, 2007- The residents and staff of Gatehouse Academy, a long term residential drug and alcohol facility, recently got an inside look at the brain and how it functions during the cycle of addiction. The entertaining and educational presentation covered topics ranging from general brain function, to the vicious cycle of addiction and included several compelling case studies.

Their teacher was Dr. James Stoehr, Ph.D., a local professor at Midwestern University. Dr. Stoehr received his B.S. in Biology from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, where his interest swayed from medicine to neurobiology. He went on to complete his Ph.D. in Physiology from Dartmouth Medical School. He continued on as a National Institute of Mental Health Post Doctorate Fellow, in the Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging at the University of Arizona until 1996. Now at Midwestern University he teaches neuroscience and physiology and supervises student research projects as a professor in the Colleges of Medicine and Health Sciences.

His knowledge captivated the audience at Gatehouse Academy, prompting several questions as he moved through his presentation. Dr. Stoehr fielded questions about the effects of drugs on the brain one after another. With each answer he provided, the residents seemed to engage further. When asked about his visit to Gatehouse Dr. Stoehr said “It was very enjoyable, it was a large and interested audience that was motivated and engaged. It was very rewarding for me.”

Drawing the most interest were Dr. Stoehr’s case studies. He presented us several case studies on addition, covering methamphetamine, cocaine, cross-stimulant, nicotine, marijuana, ecstasy, heroin, and probably most frightening “the Frozen Addicts”. Both residents and staff alike were shocked at the wide ranging devastating effects caused by addiction even over short periods of use.

Speaking with Dr. Stoehr after the presentation I asked him if he thinks that someday there will be a pill to cure addiction. Dr. Stoehr replied, “Not in the near future”. He believes in addition to a combination of medication and therapy the basic principles of the 12 steps work well.

Gatehouse Academy was privileged to have someone with so much knowledge of the brain and its functions as a guest presenter. Dr. Stoehr is the author of publications in the fields of substance abuse, memory and health professions education. His vast experience also includes the completion of a five-year grant from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy in 2003 that funded his teaching of the neurobiology of addiction to more than 15,000 high school teenagers in the greater Phoenix area. He has also recently authored a textbook for community members on the Neurobiology of Addiction.

Gatehouse Academy looks forward to Dr. Stoehr’s next visit.

About Dr. James Stoehr: Dr. Stoehr gives presentations and talks in Pennsylvania and all over the state of Arizona. He welcomes the opportunity to speak at other schools, treatment facilities and institutions. For more information contact him at 623-572-3624.