James MacKillop, Ph.D.
- Associate Professor
- Clinical Psychology Program
- Ph.D., SUNY-Binghamton, 2005
- Office: Room 152
- Ph: (706) 542-3033
- Fax: (706) 542-3275
- Email: jmackill {at} uga dt edu
Laboratory Webpage
Research Interests
I conduct a program of research using modern learning theory to understand the nature and treatment of addictive behavior. I principally conduct research using behavioral economics, which integrates the principles of operant conditioning and micro-economics, but I am also interested in the role of associative conditioning in addictive behavior. Specific foci of my research program include: 1) craving and the development/extinction of craving reactions to substance cues; 2) impulsivity; 3) demand for addictive substances; 4) genetic determinants of addictive behavior, in particular, intermediate phenotypes; 5) neuroeconomics (i.e., the neuroanatomical basis of economic decision-making; 6) medications for treating addictive behavior. The preceding are not distinct from one another but reflect interrelated interests on different levels of analysis.
Selected Publications
MacKillop, J., Amlung, M., Pryor, L.R., Ray, L.A., Sweet, L., Munafo, M.R. (in press). Delay reward discounting and addiction: A meta-analysis. Psychopharmacology.
MacKillop, J., O'Hagen, S.E., Murphy, J.G., McGeary, J.E., Ray, L.A., Tidey, J.W., Monti, P.M., & Lisman, S.A. (2010). Behavioral economic analysis of cue-elicited craving for alcohol. Addiction, 105(9):1599-607.
MacKillop, J. Miranda, Jr., R., Monti, P.M., Ray, L.A., Tidey, J.W., Rohsenow, D.J., Gwaltney, G.J., McGeary, J.E., & Swift, R.M. (2010). Alcohol demand, delayed reward discounting, and craving in relation to drinking and alcohol use disorders. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 119, 106-14.
MacKillop, J., Obasi, E.M., Amlung, M.T., McGeary, J.G., & Knopik, V.S. (2010).The role of genetic factors in nicotine dependence. Current Cardiovascular Risk Reports, 4, 446-453.
MacKillop, J. & Kahler, C.W. (2009). Delayed reward discounting predicts smoking cessation treatment outcome in heavy drinkers. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 104, 197-203.
MacKillop, J., Murphy, J.G., Tidey, J.W., Kahler, C.W., Ray, L.A., & Bickel, W.K. (2009). Latent structure of facets of alcohol reinforcement from a behavioral economic demand curve. Psychopharmacology (Berl.), 203, 33-40.
MacKillop, J., Murphy, J.G., Ray, L.A., Eisenberg, D.T.A., Lisman, S.A., Lum, J.K., & Wilson, D.S. (2008). Further validation of the cigarette purchase task for assessing the relative reinforcing efficacy of nicotine in smokers. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 16, 57-65.
MacKillop, J., Menges, D. P., McGeary, J.E., & Lisman, S.A. (2007). Influences of craving and DRD4 VNTR genotype on the relative value of alcohol. Behavioral and Brain Functions, 3, doi: 10.1186/1744-9081-3-11.
MacKillop, J. & Murphy, J.G. (2007). A behavioral economic measure of demand for alcohol predicts brief intervention outcomes. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 89, 223-233.
