Margaret Wardle, PhD
Associate Professor, Director of Clinical Training
Clinical, Program Chair
Pronouns: She/Her
Contact
Building & Room:
1050B BSB
Office Phone:
Email:
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About
The overall goal of my program of research is the development of more effective interventions for addiction.
I do this by focusing on how emotions are drive drug use, using both basic human laboratory studies and clinical trials.
I examine the basic effects of drugs on emotions by testing how small doses of drugs given in the laboratory change emotional functioning in healthy volunteers.
I also examine the long-term disruptions of emotional functioning that occur in addiction. My recent work has focused on deficits in positive emotion. Many individuals with addictions report difficulty experiencing pleasure or motivation for non-drug activities and rewards. This lack of enjoyment predicts difficulty with quitting. My current grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Targeting Anhedonia in Cocaine Use Disorder”, examines the neural mechanisms that may underlie these problems with positive emotion in cocaine addiction, and tests a medication that may restore positive emotional functioning and help people quit.
Selected Grants
National Institute on Drug Abuse, Targeting Anhedonia in Cocaine Use Disorder, PI
Selected Publications
Suchting, R., Vincent, J.N., Lane, S.D., Green, C.E., Schmitz, J.M. & Wardle, M.C. (2019) Using a data science approach to predict cocaine use frequency from depressive symptoms. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 194, 310-217. PMC6317336
Fries, G.R., Khan, S., Stamatovich, S., Dyukova, E., Walss-Bass, C., Lane, S.D., Schmitz, J.M. & Wardle, M.C. (2018) Anhedonia in cocaine use disorder is associated with inflammatory gene expression. PLoS One, 13, e0207231. PMC6224118
Wardle, M.C., Lopez-Gamundi, P.* & LaVoy, E.C. (2018). Effects of an acute bout of physical exercise on reward functioning in healthy adults. Physiology and Behavior, 194, 552-559. PMC6086604
Wardle, M.C., Lopez-Gamundi, P.*, & Flagel, S.B. (2018). Measuring appetitive conditioned responses in humans. Physiology and Behavior, 188, 140-150. PMC5845787
Wardle, M.C., Vincent, J.N., Suchting, R., Green, C.E., Lane, S.D. & Schmitz, J.M. (2017) Anhedonia is associated with poorer outcomes in contingency management for Cocaine Use Disorder. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 72, 32-29. PMC5154907
Wardle, M.C., & de Wit, H. (2012). Effects of amphetamine on reactivity to emotional stimuli. Psychopharmacology, 220, 143-153. PMC3277682
Wardle, M.C., Treadway, M.T., Mayo, L.M., Zald, D.H. & de Wit, H. (2011). Amping up effort: Effects of d-amphetamine on human effort-based decision-making. Journal of Neuroscience, 31, 16597-16602. PMC3234999
Education
B.H.A. in Psychology and Art, 2001, Carnegie Mellon University
Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, 2009, University of Illinois at Chicago
Postdoctoral Fellow in Human Behavioral Pharmacology, 2009 – 2012, University of Chicago
Licensures and Certifications
Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Illinois, September 2015 – present