Dr Stephen Naulls is an Academic Clinical Fellow in General Psychiatry at Brighton and Sussex Medical School and Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. His research focuses on the neurobiology of chemsex and sexualised drug use, combining multimodal neuroimaging, behavioural paradigms, and clinical research to better understand how psychoactive drugs interact with sexual reward and motivation. He leads the ChemsexBrain research initiative, which examines the neural and behavioural mechanisms underpinning chemsex and aims to bridge addiction neuroscience, sexual health, and public mental health. His work has been presented internationally and seeks to inform both clinical practice and policy responses to emerging patterns of substance use.

Abstract

Chemsex and the brain: Defining chemsex and emerging neurobiological mechanisms

Introducing the concept of chemsex and examining emerging work on the neurobiological mechanisms that may underpin the repeated pairing of drug use and sexual behaviour.