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Marc Lewis Ph.D.

About

Marc Lewis, Ph.D. is a neuroscientist and professor emeritus of developmental psychology, at the University of Toronto from 1989 to 2010 and then at Radboud University in the Netherlands until July 2016. He is the author or co-author of about 70 journal publications in psychology and neuroscience. Now retired from academia, he remains a prolific pop science writer and speaker focused on addiction and related topics.

Marc's connection with addiction started off the hard way. He experimented with a large variety of drugs in his youth, eventually becoming addicted to opiates. His addiction cost him several close relationships and led him into trouble with the police. At the age of 30, he quit drugs for good, then reentered grad school and received his Ph.D. five years later. Around 2006, Marc's research led him back to addiction, this time as a neuroscientist studying the brain changes that amplify craving and weaken self-control.

His first book on addiction, Memoirs of an Addicted Brain, blends his life story with a user-friendly account of how drugs affect the brain and how addiction alters neural chemistry and structure. From the back cover: "An engrossing and vividly written swirl of raw personal drama, themes of despair, loss and triumph, brilliantly rendered brain science, and clear thinking on the experience and essence of addiction. Illuminating even to experts, accessible to all." Gabor Maté, MD, author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction. His second book on addiction is The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction is Not a Disease. It combines neuroscientific findings with intimate biographies of recovered addicts, to make the case that addiction develops through accelerated learning. From the back cover: “This is the real story of ‘this is your brain on drugs,’ but one that provides a refreshing, convincing alternative to the widespread disease-model view of addiction. . . . It offers far more positivity about ways out of addiction than those offered by traditional treatment approaches, providing hope for those struggling and their loved ones.” —Anne M. Fletcher, MS, author of New York Times bestselling Sober for Good, Inside Rehab, and the Thin for Life books.

Books by Marc Lewis Ph.D.
Recent Posts
The Rise and Fall of Craving
People return to their addiction again and again, and this "relapse" tendency is powered by craving. How can we hold out against it?
Recovery (like Addiction) Relies on Neuroplasticity

Recovery requires changes in thinking and feeling — which rely on brain change or "neuroplasticity." Luckily, plasticity is a fundamental feature of the human brain.

Recovery requires changes in thinking and feeling — which rely on brain change or "neuroplasticity." Luckily, plasticity is a fundamental feature of the human brain.

What's Wrong with Treating the "Disease" of Addiction?

Addicts need empowerment and self-direction in order to change. But the medicalization of addiction turns them into patients: obedient, passive, and powerless.

Addicts need empowerment and self-direction in order to change. But the medicalization of addiction turns them into patients: obedient, passive, and powerless.

Religion and Addiction: Void-Fillers?

When addicts face the prospect of permanent abstinence, they stare into a frightening abyss. But that's not so different from the experience of religious people who are losing their faith. For both, the neural circuitry of desire has been harnessed to a fundamental need for connection. And that's a terrible thing to lose.

When addicts face the prospect of permanent abstinence, they stare into a frightening abyss. But that's not so different from the experience of religious people who are losing their faith. For both, the neural circuitry of desire has been harnessed to a fundamental need for connection. And that's a terrible thing to lose.

What if Addiction Is the Only Game in Town?

Giving up booze or drugs, getting sober, might sound like a good idea. Unless there's nothing else available to provide you with meaning and warmth. Without those alternatives, getting straight is like looking into a dust-storm. There's nothing to see except greyness and formlessness -- and that can be terrifying.

Giving up booze or drugs, getting sober, might sound like a good idea. Unless there's nothing else available to provide you with meaning and warmth. Without those alternatives, getting straight is like looking into a dust-storm. There's nothing to see except greyness and formlessness -- and that can be terrifying.

When All Our Dreams Come True

The warmth and closeness that come our way during the holidays can cast a long shadow: loss, loneliness, and alienation. That makes Christmas a difficult time for ex- and recovering addicts. Because drugs and other addictions promise to fill the hole.

The warmth and closeness that come our way during the holidays can cast a long shadow: loss, loneliness, and alienation. That makes Christmas a difficult time for ex- and recovering addicts. Because drugs and other addictions promise to fill the hole.

The Key to Quitting: Self-Trust Part 2, Delay Discounting

Delay discounting is the tendency to overvalue immediate rewards at the expense of long-term benefits, and addicts are particularly prone. Their messed-up dopamine system makes their drug, drink or behavior of choice seem way too attractive. To overcome delay discounting, addicts need to find a future self they can rely on.

Delay discounting is the tendency to overvalue immediate rewards at the expense of long-term benefits, and addicts are particularly prone. Their messed-up dopamine system makes their drug, drink or behavior of choice seem way too attractive. To overcome delay discounting, addicts need to find a future self they can rely on.