Addiction

A medication known as spironolactone may aid the treatment of alcohol use disorder, according to a new study published in Molecular Psychiatry. The research was led by scientists at the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National...

Published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, researchers found that problematic smartphone use is linked with low self-esteem as well as negative cognitive outcomes.

Can being an impulsive early adolescent be a slippery slope leading to more serious problems in the later teenage years? A study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health explores the relationships between impulsivity, antisocial behavior, and alcohol use through...

An online survey of university student gamblers reported that people who gamble and are prone to lying, cheating and callous behavior (primary psychopathy) were much more likely to fall into gambling-related problems and much less likely to use strategies to...

A recent survey of students in Italy found that smartphone addiction and online compulsive buying are related. Additionally, the mental activities a person uses to regulate his/her mood strengthen that link. Flow experiences, i.e. cognitive states of total absorption in...

"This, together with other rodent work, points one towards thinking that psychedelic drugs on their own don’t have any inherent, persistent healing effects, but need something further for the therapeutic effects, which in human trials of course most likely is...

Alcohol can reduce our reactivity to stress, and a new experiment suggests that this effect is stronger for particular types of stressful situations. The findings, published in the journal Clinical Psychological Science, revealed that alcohol more strongly alleviates reactivity when stressors...

A systematic review published in the journal Psychopharmacology found elevated brain reactivity to cannabis cues among regular cannabis users, in specific brain regions. The study also uncovered preliminary evidence that this increased brain function may trigger cannabis cravings.

New research provides evidence that individuals who had lonely childhoods tend to be more reactive to stress, which in turn makes them more susceptible to alcohol-related problems. The findings have been published in Addictive Behaviors Reports.

Many people who struggle with addiction feel a lot of guilt and shame over their use. A new study published in PLOS One suggests that independent of depression, this shame and guilt can be significant barriers to reducing drug use,...

The social media platform TikTok has exploded in popularity and now has more than one billion monthly active users worldwide. But new research published in the journal Addictive Behaviors highlights that some individuals can develop a pathological dependence on the...

Many people think the popular social media app TikTok is only used to post dancing videos, but there is evidence that people can find community and support through it. An article published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence explores substance use...

Opioid abuse is a prevalent and very dangerous substance use disorder. Psychedelic use has been proposed as a treatment for various substance use disorders, leading people to question if it would be an effective treatment for opioid abuse. A study...

A recent study suggests that children who suffer emotional abuse go on to experience increased insomnia, and in turn, more alcohol-related problems during adulthood. The researchers behind the study suggest that addressing childhood trauma may be one avenue of treatment...

The psychedelic substance known as ibogaine blocks some addiction-related effects of alcohol in mice, according to new research published in Frontiers in Pharmacology.