Keynote Presentation

Dr. Herbert E. Covington III, PhD

Broken Breaks: Social Stress and Drug History Collide to Trigger Runaway Bingeing

Bingeing—extended bouts of uncontrolled intake—is among the most devastating patterns of drug use, accompanied by distress and physical suffering, and driven by a small subset of users who account for disproportionate consumption. In rodent models offering continuous cocaine access, drug intake is ordinarily constrained by homeostatic regulation, but prior exposure to intermittent social stress undermines this control, yielding sustained and unremitting consumption. This behavioral pattern corresponds to a neurobiology tuned to incentive ‘wanting’ rather than hedonic value, particularly in the prefrontal cortex, where baseline activity in specific layers and cell types dissociates from that of individuals who limit their drug taking. Together, this experimental work helps to elucidate how stress and drug history interact to shape motivational circuitry and drive the transition toward intense, uncontrollable bingeing.

Biography

Herb Covington, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Human Development at SUNY Empire State University. His research examines how social experiences and substance use influence the neurobiological mechanisms underlying maladaptive behaviors. Combining molecular, cellular, and circuit-level approaches with operant schedules of reinforcement, his work aims to clarify how adaptive behaviors develop into more compulsive, tenacious routines. Dr. Covington received his Ph.D. in Biological Psychology from Tufts University and completed postdoctoral training in Molecular Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

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