Join us for an interdisciplinary exploration of addiction through the lens of neuroscience. Open to learners at all levels, these flexible online courses provide practical, evidence-informed insights while allowing you to earn continuing education credit on your own schedule. Learn neuroscience at your own pace.

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Coming soon...

Registration Opens on September 1, 2026!

The following updates & newly approved CE courses are coming soon, including....

New! Foundational Neuroscience for Social Workers - September 1, 2026!

• Enhance your understanding of the addiction series with this 3-course foundational neuroscience series. Explore how brain cells communicate, how neural circuits shape behavior, and how biological signaling processes influence everything from stress and emotion to substance use, craving, and recovery.

Neurobiology of Addiction - September 1, 2026! 

Updated! Impact, Prevalence & Ethics

• Learn how prevalence data, social systems, and ethical considerations intersect to shape treatment, recovery, and clinical practice in this data-driven exploration of addiction and substance use policy.

New! Plasticity

• Discover how experiences, relationships, and environments shape the brain across the lifespan. This upcoming course explores the science of neuroplasticity and translates cutting-edge neuroscience into practical insights for behavioral health professionals.

Updated! Neurobiology of Addiction

• Gain a deeper understanding of addiction through the lens of neuroscience. This course examines how substances reshape neural circuits and behavior, translating complex brain science into clinically meaningful insights for practice.

Current Courses - Enroll Now!

Impact, Prevalence & Ethics

$35 - Register Here!
CE Approvals: 1.25 ETHICS (ACE/ASWB) / 1.5 SPECIFIC (MCBAP)

• Latest trends in chemical dependence & substance use
• Social & cultural factors shaping substance use in the U.S.
• The community & economic impact of addiction
• Ethical concerns: racism, mass incarceration, stigma & health care access
• Incarceration trends & their intersection with race, class, and gender
• Barriers to seeking treatment – insights from the NSDUH (2024)
• Social work solutions at macro, mezzo & clinical levels

Neuroscience Behind Change

$30 - Register Here!
CE Approvals: 1 CE (ACE/ASWB)/ 1 SPECIFIC (MCBAP)

• Chemical and electrical signaling between neurons
• Types of synapses and their functions
• Action potentials: How chemical signals propagate
• Neurotransmission: chemical structures and functions, dopamine synthesis, phasic activity
• Structural and functional plasticity
• Mechanisms of Change: synaptogenesis, neurogenesis, pruning, LTP, LTD
• Plasticity throughout the life span and in the context of chemical dependence

Neurobiology of Addiction

$35 - Register Here!
CE Approvals: 1.5 CE (ACE/ASWB) / 1.5 SPECIFIC (MCBAP)

• Classification of substance use disorders (ICD, DSM, etc.) and differentiation between "addiction, misuse, abuse and dependence"
• Structural and functional changes to the brain at each stage of substance use: acute, post-acute and prolonged effects
• Anatomical (structural) and functional (connectivity) changes resultant from substance use
• Mechanisms of substance-related changes at both molecular and cellular levels (delta-fosB, GluR1, CREB)
• Connect all the above neurobiological changes to common cognitive, affective and behavioral symptoms that characterize substance use disorders
• Genetics, epigenetics & heritability
• Risk and protective factors and prevention strategies

Instructor

Kathryn Irish, PhD, LMSW, CAADC, is an Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at Michigan State University and a Lecturer II in Social Work at the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor. She has more than 10 years of clinical practice experience across a range of settings, including community mental health, private practice, methadone maintenance treatment, and the U.S. federal criminal justice system. She has also held leadership and quality-improvement roles within managed health care. Dr. Irish specializes in alcohol and drug treatment and completed her PhD in Social Work at Michigan State University with a doctoral cognate in neuroscience. Her work integrates neuroscience, behavioral health, and social work to translate complex scientific concepts into practical, evidence-informed approaches for clinicians and other helping professionals. Her research focuses on improving interpersonal relationships, health care, and intergroup relations through transdisciplinary research, technology, and education.

Register

Please visit our EventBright page to register. 

Registration is ongoing, year round. All courses are asynchronous & self-paced, including a lecture followed by a brief quiz. In order to achieve CE credit, you must pass the quiz with at least 70%. Certificates are available instantly, upon completion of the quiz. Participants will be prompted to enter their name and license information if they would like to count the certificate for professional/clinical CE. 

Content is designed for persons with diverse educational backgrounds; there are no prerequisites necessary.

Please review our policies below regarding requesting a refund or cancellation. 

ACE Approval Statement

Michigan State University Neuroscience Program (2268) is approved to offer continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. Michigan State University Neuroscience Program maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 6/6/2025 - 6/6/2029.