Harriet De Wit, PhD

The de Wit laboratory investigates the subjective, behavioral and physiological effects of drugs of abuse in healthy human volunteers. Some studies are designed to identify individual differences and risk factors for excessive use, and others to determine the effects of drugs on mood, psychomotor and cognitive performance, and brain activity. Another major interest is the study of conditioned drug effects, or cues, that influence future drug use.

Concordia University
Montreal Canada
PhD - Experimental Psychology
1981

University of Calgary
Calgary Canada
BA - Psychology
1969

Effects of methamphetamine on two measures of reward: Euphoria and neural activation to reward cues.
Effects of methamphetamine on two measures of reward: Euphoria and neural activation to reward cues. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2025 Apr 23.
PMID: 40269142

Subjective Response to Opioids Predicts Risk for Opioid Use Disorder.
Subjective Response to Opioids Predicts Risk for Opioid Use Disorder. medRxiv. 2025 Mar 23.
PMID: 40166554

Methamphetamine-induced adaptation of learning rate dynamics depend on baseline performance.
Methamphetamine-induced adaptation of learning rate dynamics depend on baseline performance. bioRxiv. 2025 Mar 20.
PMID: 39026741

MDMA as well as amphetamine and alcohol increase feelings of social closeness in healthy adults.
MDMA as well as amphetamine and alcohol increase feelings of social closeness in healthy adults. Sci Rep. 2024 12 28; 14(1):31312.
PMID: 39732947

Frontal Pole Neuromodulation for Impulsivity and Suicidality in Veterans With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Common Co-Occurring Mental Health Conditions: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.
Frontal Pole Neuromodulation for Impulsivity and Suicidality in Veterans With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Common Co-Occurring Mental Health Conditions: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Res Protoc. 2024 Dec 13; 13:e58206.
PMID: 39671573

Low-Dose LSD Alters Early and Late Event-Related Potentials to Emotional Faces.
Low-Dose LSD Alters Early and Late Event-Related Potentials to Emotional Faces. Psychedelic Med (New Rochelle). 2024 Dec; 2(4):210-220.
PMID: 40051483

Social Homeostasis and Psychoactive Drugs: What Can We Learn From Opioid and Amphetamine Drug Challenge Studies in Humans?
Social Homeostasis and Psychoactive Drugs: What Can We Learn From Opioid and Amphetamine Drug Challenge Studies in Humans? Biol Psychiatry. 2025 May 15; 97(10):982-988.
PMID: 39277124

Impact of childhood adversity on acute subjective effects of stimulant and opioid drugs: Evidence from placebo-controlled studies in healthy volunteers.
Impact of childhood adversity on acute subjective effects of stimulant and opioid drugs: Evidence from placebo-controlled studies in healthy volunteers. J Psychopharmacol. 2024 Nov; 38(11):986-997.
PMID: 39118370

Methamphetamine-induced adaptation of learning rate dynamics depend on baseline performance.
Methamphetamine-induced adaptation of learning rate dynamics depend on baseline performance. bioRxiv. 2024 Jul 08.
PMID: 39026741

Psychedelics in Medicine: Can Evidence Keep Up With Enthusiasm?
Psychedelics in Medicine: Can Evidence Keep Up With Enthusiasm? Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. 2024 May; 9(5):460-461.
PMID: 38719373

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Lifetime Achievement Award
Research Society on Alcoholism
2020

John F. Lemieux Medal for Distinguished Alumni
Concordia University, Montreal
2020

Distinguished Achievement Award
European Behavioural Pharmacology Society
2019

Distinguished Lecturer, Elizabeth Fitzgerald Sporar Endowment Distinguished Initiatives in Addiction
University of Texas
2016

Marian W. Fischman Memorial Lectureship Award
College of Problems on Drug Dependence
2009

Solvay Award for Outstanding Basic Psychopharmacological Research in Affective Disorders
American Psychological Association
1999