Mục lục
What Is Neuroscience?
Neuroscience is a multidisciplinary field that studies the human brain and nervous system at every level — from the earliest stages of embryonic development to the disorders and degeneration that occur late in life. It spans from the individual molecules that shape neuron function to the complex dynamics of systems that form our thoughts and govern our behavior.
Some neurological conditions cause visible disabilities — such as Parkinson’s disease or the paralysis that follows a stroke. But there are other conditions far more devastating that are nearly invisible to the naked eye: addiction.
An Invisible but Devastating Disease
When a disease cannot be seen or measured by others, it becomes one of the most misunderstood conditions in existence, and those who suffer from it are often accused of exaggerating or being dishonest. When people are at their most vulnerable and in greatest need of help, stigma prevents them from seeking support — a terrible paradox that can make a disease already invisible to others even worse.
In Vietnam, this situation is particularly alarming. In a survey of 1,200 Vietnamese youth, nearly 30% believed that second-hand smoke poses no health risks, nearly 40% said they would drink alcohol when offered, and about 34% believed that using drugs once or twice cannot lead to addiction. A national survey found that 20% of young people between the ages of 14 and 25 had smoked in their lifetime, and 18% had consumed alcohol in the past 30 days. Vietnam has high alcohol consumption compared to other countries in the region, and frequent heavy drinking is widespread.
These numbers are not merely dry statistics. Behind each figure lies a broken family, a lost future, a buried talent. And the world is in desperate need of scientists to understand and treat this disease.
The story of Dr. Judith Grisel stands as proof that even from the deepest abyss, a person can rise — not only to save themselves, but to give back to humanity.
A Beginning in a Loving Family
Judith grew up as the only daughter in a loving family in Minnesota, USA. She had two older brothers. Her parents were ordinary, hardworking people who devoted themselves to their children. No one could have imagined that this girl would fall into the dark world of drugs.
At the age of 13, Judith got drunk for the first time, and she describes it as a transformative experience — suddenly she felt less anxious, less insecure, and capable of coping with the world in a way she had never experienced before. That was the beginning of a nightmare that would last ten years.
Hitting Rock Bottom
By the time she was 22 or 23, Judith had become homeless in South Florida, stealing credit cards to fund her habit, had been expelled from three universities, and had eventually begun injecting cocaine. Her family had fallen apart. Her father had distanced himself from her to the point of telling others he had two sons, rather than acknowledging her existence.
But the darkest moment was not when she became homeless, nor when her family gave up on her. It was when she was using cocaine alongside a Vietnam veteran named Johnny — the man overdosed, his eyes rolled back and he began to convulse, and her reaction was to think that he probably wouldn’t want his next hit anymore. In that moment, Judith had ceased to be fully human — she was nothing more than a machine searching for drugs.
During a cocaine high in 1985 in South Florida, a friend told her that there would never be enough cocaine for them — a statement that planted a seed in her mind.
The Turning Point
Then one day, her father — the man who had denied her existence for years — unexpectedly invited her to dinner. At that dinner, he reached across the table and essentially told her that he wanted her to live. It was a pivotal emotional moment.
As it turned out, her mother had been quietly researching treatment centers for years and had even obtained a court order in Florida that would allow her to compel Judith into treatment if necessary. Her parents flew her from South Florida to Minnesota and admitted her to a treatment facility.
She stayed in the treatment center for 20 days — a period that felt as long as nine years to her — and then spent three months in a halfway house.
A Hard Road to Education
But this was no fairy tale with an immediate happy ending. Judith’s initial motivation to pursue education was not even remotely noble. At age 23, she was determined not to give up drugs permanently — she believed they were the best thing in her life — and so she decided to study and understand addiction in order to eventually use the substances again in a safe way.
This determination to find a cure (so that she could use drugs again) drove her through seven years of undergraduate study and another seven years of graduate school — fourteen years in total, a long and grueling journey.
Throughout that time, Judith studied biology, chemistry, psychology, and ultimately neuroscience. She began to understand that addiction is not a lack of willpower or a moral failing. It is a disease of the brain — a complex disorder involving the systems of reward, memory, motivation, and control.
Gradually, her motivation changed. From wanting to find a way to use drugs “safely,” she shifted to wanting to understand addiction and help others who were suffering the way she once had.
Family Life and a Moment of Reckoning
Judith married and had children. She went more than 27 years without touching drugs. But addiction never truly disappears entirely.
Even after 27 years of sobriety, when she discovered marijuana in her son’s room and picked up the plastic bag containing it, she felt like a teenager again — and the addict inside her began to think that maybe she could use just once more.
That moment — holding her son’s bag of marijuana, feeling the pull of temptation after nearly three decades — reminded her that her work was not merely academic. It was personal. It was urgent. It was necessary.
Research and Contributions
Dr. Grisel is currently a professor of psychology at Bucknell University and an internationally recognized behavioral neuroscientist. Her areas of specialization include:
- The neurobiology of addiction
- Sex differences in how men and women respond to alcohol
- The genetics of addiction
- Why some people become addicted while others do not
She has spent more than 20 years as a researcher studying the neuroscience of addiction. Her work helps us understand that addiction is not a moral failure — it is a brain disorder that can be understood and treated.
She is the author of Never Enough: The Neuroscience and Experience of Addiction, in which she combines scientific knowledge with her own lived experience to explain addiction in a way that even non-scientists can understand.
A Call to Young Vietnamese
As mentioned earlier, Vietnam is facing a quiet crisis. Approximately 80% of drug users in Vietnam are under the age of 35, and the 18-to-25 age group is the most heavily represented in cases of substance abuse. Most people significantly underestimate the scale of the addiction problem in Vietnam.
But with challenge comes opportunity.
If you are a young person in Vietnam considering a career in science, medicine, or public health, the field of neuroscience — particularly addiction research — is waiting for your contribution. The work is ripe. The need is urgent. And as the story of Dr. Grisel demonstrates, even those who have been in the most desperate of circumstances can become people who change the world.
Lessons from the Story
- Addiction is a brain disease, not a moral weakness.
- The road to recovery is never a straight line — Judith took 14 years to complete her education.
- Motivation can change — she started with selfish reasons but grew into a far greater purpose.
- Family matters — a single dinner, a single loving gesture, can save a life.
- Addiction never truly disappears — even after 27 years, it remains, always demanding vigilance.
- Science needs people who understand pain — personal experience combined with scientific training can produce the most powerful contributions of all.
Closing Words
The story of Judith Grisel is not about a genius born to do science. It is the story of a person who failed in every imaginable way — expelled from school, homeless, abandoned by family, deep in addiction — yet still found a way back.
In Vietnam, millions of families are suffering in silence as their children and siblings struggle with addiction to alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. Most do not seek help because of shame and stigma.
The world needs neuroscientists, doctors, psychologists, and policymakers who understand this disease and can develop better treatments, better prevention programs, and better policy.
If you are reading this and searching for a path to devote your life to something meaningful, consider neuroscience. Consider addiction research. The field is waiting for you. And perhaps, like Judith Grisel, you will find that in helping others, you also find yourself.
References for Further Reading
- Never Enough: The Neuroscience and Experience of Addiction — Judith Grisel
- Online neuroscience courses on Coursera and edX
- Neuroscience programs at leading universities
- Brain research and addiction organizations
Phạm Tiêu Dao
