Substance abuse is an enormous social problem in South Africa, as elsewhere. It is one of the focus areas of the Brain-Behaviour Initiative (BBI) at the University of Cape Town, which relates neuroscience and behavioural science to social issues. This ground-breaking book, which presents some of the cutting-edge research of this unit, looks at the problem of substance abuse from multiple perspectives and particularly in the light of recent discoveries in brain and behavioural science, but also taking a public health view. Its focus ranges from brain imaging and dopaminergic neurocircuitry to policy and prevention. In South Africa in particular, tik (crystal meth, or methamphetamine) and alcohol are devastating society, aggravating poverty and crime, and contributing to child abuse and gender violence. Substance Use and Abuse is the first book to address the nature of this problem in an integrated way.