BIOGRAPHY

Jeffery N. Wilkins, MD is Vice Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health at Cedars-Sinai. Dr. Wilkins is also Medical Director of Addiction Medicine and Director of Addiction Studies within the department's Clinical Trials Unit. In addition, he serves as Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). In addition, he serves as Director of the Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit at the Veterans Administration Greater Los Angeles Healthcare Center and as Research Director of U.S. VETS, a national organization that provides housing and other services to homeless veterans.

Dr. Wilkins' research interests include pharmacotherapy of patients with substance abuse problems and/or mental illness, the pharmacokinetics of abused substances and the identification of biological markers for psychiatric disorders. His investigations have received funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute of Mental Health and the Veterans Administration.

A board-certified psychiatrist, Dr. Wilkins is a diplomate of the American Board of Medical Examiners and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, from which he has received and added qualification in addiction psychiatry. He has written articles for numerous peer-reviewed publications, including the American Journal of Psychiatry, Archives of General Psychiatry, Biological Psychiatry, California Pediatrician and the Journal of Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

Dr. Wilkins received his bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame and his medical degree from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine. After studying neurology at Queen Square and St. Pancras Hospitals in London, he completed a medical internship at UCSD School of Medicine and a psychiatry residency at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute.

ABSTRACT

Exploring the Diagnosis and Treatment of Online Gaming Addiction
Individual Presentation, Friday (10:45 - 12:15) in Hall of Ideas F

What does "addiction" mean in the context of online gaming? In which ways does online gaming addiction resemble other addictions such as alcoholism or pathological gambling? Are there addictive characteristics unique to online gaming? Case reports suggest that for some people, engagement in online gaming may lead to behaviors consistent with a dependence process: continual increases in the activity, inability to cut down, substitution of the activity for work and social activities, and continued play despite awareness of associated problems. This presentation will engage participants in a discussion of the process of diagnosing and treating online gaming addiction. Participants will interactively learn via evaluation of case examples how to determine whether or not evidence suggestive of an addiction is present and if so, what to consider doing about it. This collaborative exploration will be guided by a group of psychiatrists with expertise in the field of addictions and an interest in both helping those struggling with online gaming addiction as well as the use of videogames to provide innovative, interactive means of educating, diagnosing, and treating patients.