Michael Amlung, M.S.
- Doctoral Candidate
- Behavioral and Brain Sciences Program
- Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology Laboratory
- B.S., Indiana University (2007)
- M.S., University of Georgia (2009)
- Office: Psychology 215
- Ph: (706) 542-2174
- Fax: (706) 542-3275
- Email: mamlung {at} uga dt edu
Curriculum Vitae (PDF)
Visit my Personal Website
Research Interests
Addiction; Cognitive Neuroscience; Impulsivity; Behavioral Economics; Neuroeconomics
Current Research Projects
My research combines human laboratory and functional neuroimaging techniques to explore the cognitive and neural basis of addiction. A major component of my work involves applying behavioral economics - an integration of principles from psychology and economics - to study choices between addictive substances (e.g., alcohol, tobacco) and alternative reinforcers (e.g., money) in individuals with substance use disorders.
I am currently conducting several studies in this area:
- I am the principal investigator on a study using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the neural substrates of delay discounting (a measure of impulsive decision making) and alcohol cue reactivity in a sample of heavy drinkers. Findings from this study may extend our understanding of how the brain processes decisions about different rewards and how variability in the neural response to alcohol cues is associated with individual differences in self-control. This project is generously supported, in part, by a Graduate Fellowship from the John and Mary Franklin Foundation Neuroimaging Training Program.
- The second study - the basis of my dissertation - is examining the combined effects of a laboratory stress induction and an in vivo alcohol cue exposure on measures of incentive value in heavy drinkers. Specifically, I am investigating whether the subjective experience of acute psychosocial stress and cue-elicited craving influences drinkers' preferences for alcohol versus monetary rewards across a variety of behavioral economic paradigms. A secondary aim of this project is to understand which individual differences variables (e.g., working memory capacity, drinking motives, personality traits) predict changes in value. Findings from this study may help inform how experiential states such as stress and craving influence decisions to drink. Potential translational implications include extending existing models of stress and cue-elicited relapse in individuals with alcohol use disorders.
- I am also a collaborator on several other peojcts. I am a project director of two fMRI studies investigating the neural correlates of demand for alcohol and tobacco in heavy drinkers and nicotine dependent individuals, respectively. Finally, I am collaborating with researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) on a study investigating the effects of acute stress on delay discounting in alcohol-dependent adults.
Publications
Amlung, M., Acker, J., Stojek, M., Murphy, J. & MacKillop, J. (in press). Is talk “cheap”? An initial investigation of the equivalence of alcohol task performance for hypothetical and actual rewards. Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2011.01656.x
MacKillop, J., Amlung, M. T., Wier, L., David, S. P., Ray, L. A., Bickel, W. K., & Sweet, L. H. (in press). The neuroeconomics of nicotine dependence: An fMRI study of delay discounting in nicotine dependent adults. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging.
Acker, J., Amlung, M., Stojek, M., Murphy, J. G., & MacKillop, J. (in press). Individual variation in behavioral economic indices of the relative value of alcohol: Incremental validity in relation to impulsivity, craving, and intellectual functioning. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology.
Plebani, J., Ray, L. A. Morean, M., Corbin, W., MacKillop, J., Amlung, M., King, A. C. (in press). Human laboratory paradigms in alcohol research. Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
Amlung, M. & MacKillop, J. (2011). Delayed reward discounting and alcohol misuse: The roles of response consistency and reward magnitude. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology, 2(3), 418-431. doi:10.5127/jep.017311
MacKillop. J., Amlung, M. T., Pryor, L. R., Ray, L. A., Sweet, L. H. & Munafo, M. R. (2011). Delayed reward discounting and addictive behavior: A meta-analysis. Psychpharmacology, 216 (3), 305-321. doi: 10.1007/s00213-011-2229-0
MacKillop, J., Obasi, E., Amlung, M., McGeary, J., & Knopik, V. (2010). The role of genetics in nicotine dependence: Mapping the pathways from genome to syndrome. Current Cardiovascular Risk Reports, 4, 446-453. doi:10.1007/s12170-010-0132-6
Book Chapters
Sweet, L.H., Amlung, M.T., & MacKillop, J. (in press). Understanding addiction via functional magnetic resonance imaging.In MacKillop, J. & de Wit, H. (Eds.). Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Addiction Psychopharmaology. Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, Inc.
MacKillop, J., Amlung, M.T., Murphy, C.M., Acker, J. & Ray, L.A., (in press). A behavioral economic approach to health behavior. In DiClemente, R., Salazar, L. F., & Crosby, R. A. (Eds.) Health Behavior Theory for Public Health: Principles, Foundations, and Applications. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Amlung, M., & MacKillop, J. (2011). Understanding addiction via behavioral economics and neuroeconomics: Insights from delayed reward discounting. In Wouters, L. (Ed.), Progress in Economics Research. Vol. 21. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers.
Selected Abstracts & Presentations
Amlung, M., Acker, J., Brown, C., Sweet, L., & MacKillop, J. (2011). The neuroeconomics of delayed reward discounting in heavy drinkers. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 35, S1, 23A
MacKillop, J., Amlung, M., Sweet, L. H., Acker, J., & Brown, C. (2011). The neuroeconomics of alcohol demand: Initial findings. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 35, S1, 24A
Acker, J., Amlung, M., Few, L., & MacKillop, J. (2011). Contextualizing delay discounting and alcohol misuse: A meta-analysis of continuous relationships. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 35, S1, 106A.
Schaeffer, D. J., Amlung, M., Li, Q., Krafft, C. E., Austin, B. P., Dyckman, K. A., & McDowell, J. E. (2011). Brain activation patterns differentiating correct and incorrect anti-saccade performance. Psychophysiology, 48, s1, S99.
Amlung, M., MacKillop, J., Sweet, J., Wier, L., David, S., Jerskey, B., Ray, L., Murphy, J., Cohen, R., & Bickel, W. (2010). The neuroeconomics of nicotine dependence: Understanding intertemporal choice in smokers using fMRI. Poster presented at Neuroeconomics: Decision Making & the Brain meeting. Evanston, IL.
Amlung, M. & MacKillop, J. (2010). Advances in measuring the incentive salience of alcohol: Consistency of value attributions using an alcohol purchase task. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 34, S2, 47A.
MacKillop, J., Amlung, M., Acker, J., Stojek, M., (2010). Further validation of an alcohol purchase task: Equivalence of versions for hypothetical and actual rewards. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 34, S2, 48A.
Amlung, M., Acker, J., Stojek, M., MacKillop, J. (2010). Further validation of an alcohol purchase task: Equivalence of versions for hypothetical and actual rewards. Poster presented at the 10th Annual Samuel B. Guze Symposium on Alcoholism. St Louis, MO.
MacKillop, J., Pryor, L., Amlung, M., & Munafo, M. (2010). Delayed reward discounting in smokers and individuals with other addictive disorders: A meta-analysis. Poster presented at the 2010 annual meeting of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. Baltimore, MD.
MacKillop, J., Pryor, L., Amlung, M., Wier, L., Murphy, J., Acker, J., Murphy, C., & Chaloupka, F., (2010). High-resolution analysis of tobacco demand in a community sample of smokers. Poster presented at the 2010 annual meeting of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. Baltimore, MD.
Amlung, M.T., Valtcheva, M.V., & McDowell, J.E. (2009). Saccadic performance and its relation to self-report ratings of schizotypy in undergraduates. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 15, 1, 50.
Amlung, M.T., Li, Q., Austin, B.P., Camchong, J., & McDowell, J.E. (2009). Behavioral and neural correlates of poor saccadic control in undergraduates. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 35,, 1 193.
Selected Teaching Presentations
Amlung, M., Dengler, M., Simpson, E., Stone, B., *Williams, G., & Domizi, D. (2012, August). The role of peer mentoring in psychology teaching assistant development. Proposal submitted for poster presentation at 120th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association. Orlando, FL.
Amlung, M. (2011, October). Bringing TED to class: Hosting virtual conferences. Invited talk given on FridayLive! Webinar Series (Teaching, Learning, and Technology Group). Archived talk URL: http://tinyurl.com/AmlungFL
Amlung, M., Dengler, M., Simpson, E., Stone, B., Williams, G., Suplita, R. & Domizi, D. (2011, October). The role of peer mentoring in teaching assistant development. Proposal submitted for poster presentation at 36th Annual POD Conference. Atlanta, GA.
Amlung, M. (2011, October). Ideas worth spreading: Using TED.com in undergraduate psychology courses. Poster presented at STP Best Practices Conference. Atlanta, GA.
Williams, G., Amlung, M., Dengler, M., Simpson, E., Stone, B., Suplita, R., & Domizi, D. (2011, March). The role of peer mentoring in psychology teaching assistant development: A pilot study. Poster presented at the 34th Annual Convention of the Behavioral Sciences. Athens, GA.
Amlung, M. & Domizi, D. P. (2011, March). Using virtual conferences to integrate online content with the classroom. Oral Session Presentation at SoTL Commons. Statesboro, GA.
Amlung, M. & Domizi, D. P. (2011, February). Using virtual conferences to integrate online content with the classroom. Poster Presentation at the 2011 Lilly Conference on College and University Teaching. Greensboro, NC.
