Educational Background
- PhD in Clinical Psychology, University of Southern California
Joel Erblich
Professor
- Research
- Clinical Psychology
Dr. Erblich's research focuses on the interactions between emotional, cognitive, behavioral and genetic factors in addictive behaviors.
See Contact DetailsAreas of Research
My research focuses on the interactions between emotional, cognitive, behavioral and genetic factors in addictive behaviors. In conducting my research, I take a multidisciplinary-translational approach, with hypotheses driven by both the human and animal literatures that have contributed to the current understanding of motivations for drug use. Projects in this area include studies of the effects of personality, attitudes, cognitions, and stress on alcohol craving and drinking decisions. Other projects include the effects of dopamine-related genetic polymorphisms on smokers' cigarette cravings. The research thus draws upon behavioral principles, such as personality, conditioning, and stress reactivity, as well as molecular biological principles, including genetic and cellular mechanisms of dopamine transmission. It hope that ultimately my research program will lead to effective multifaceted treatments for tobacco smoking and alcohol dependence, both of which continue to contribute unabatedly to human morbidity and mortality at alarming rates.
Publications
- Tong C, Bovbjerg DH, Erblich J. Smoking-related videos for use in cue-induced craving paradigms. Addict Behav 2007 Dec; 32(12): 3034-3044.
- Colamussi L, Bovbjerg DH, Erblich J. Stress- and cue-induced cigarette craving: effects of a family history of smoking. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2007 May; 88(2-3): 251-258.
- Erblich J, Earleywine M. Alcohol Problems: Causes, Definitions, and Treatments. In: Cohen L, McChargue D, Collins F, editors. The Health Psychology Handbook: Practical Issues for the Behavioral Medicine Specialist. Newbury Park, CA, Sage Publications; 2003.
- Erblich J, Earleywine M, Erblich B. Biphasic stimulant and sedative effects of ethanol: are children of alcoholics really different?. Addict Behav 2003 Aug; 28(6): 1129-39.
- Erblich J, Boyarsky Y, Spring B, Niaura R, Bovbjerg DH. A family history of smoking predicts heightened levels of stress-induced cigarette craving. Addiction 2003 May; 98: 657-64.
- Erblich J, Earleywine M. Behavioral undercontrol and subjective stimulant and sedative effects of alcohol intoxication: independent predictors of drinking habits?. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2003 Jan; 27(1): 44-50.
- Erblich J, Bovbjerg DH. In vivo versus imaginal smoking cue exposures: is seeing believing?. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 2004 Aug; 12(3): 208-15.
- Erblich J, Lerman C, Self DW, Diaz GA, Bovbjerg DH. Stress-induced cigarette craving: effects of the DRD2 TaqI RFLP and SLC6A3 VNTR polymorphisms. Pharmacogenomics J 2004; 4(2): 102-9.
- Erblich J, Lerman C, Self DW, Diaz GA, Bovbjerg DH. Effects of dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) and transporter (SLC6A3) polymorphisms on smoking cue-induced cigarette craving among African-American smokers. Mol Psychiatry 2005 Apr; 10(4): 407-14.
- Erblich J, Brown K, Kim Y, Valdimarsdottir HB, Livingston BE, Bovbjerg DH. Development and validation of a Breast Cancer Genetic Counseling Knowledge Questionnaire. Patient Educ Couns 2005 Feb; 56(2): 182-91.
- Erblich J, Michalowski A. Impulsivity moderates the relationship between previous quit failure and cue-induced craving. Addict Behav. 2015 Dec; 51(12): 7-11.
- Michalowski A, Erblich J. Reward dependence moderates smoking cue- and stress-induced cigarette cravings. Addict Behav 2014 Dec; 39(12): 1879-1883.