David Belin

David Belin is a Fellow at the University of Cambridge, affiliated with the School of Biological Sciences. His research focuses on the neural, cellular, and molecular mechanisms underlying inter-individual vulnerability to impulsive and compulsive disorders, including drug addiction, Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder, Tourette’s syndrome, pathological gambling, and dopamine dysregulation syndrome in Parkinson’s Disease. His work involves studying behaviour, impulse control, dopamine, the striatum, and rats. Techniques used include self-administration, RNAscope, Western blot, opto/chemigenetics, and intracranial manipulations.

David Belin is a Professor of Behavioural Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge, specializing in the study of impulsivity, compulsion, drug addiction, and habits. His research explores the neural mechanisms underlying vulnerability to develop compulsive drug-seeking behaviors and addiction, with a focus on the role of dopamine and striatal connectivity. Belin's work investigates how impulsivity predicts the transition to compulsive cocaine-taking and the differences between opiate and psychostimulant addiction. His studies also examine the impact of environmental factors, such as enriched environments, on resistance to drug addiction and the role of the insula in the development of compulsive behavior.