Novel Treatment Approaches for Substance Use Disorders: Therapeutic Use of Psychedelics and the Role of Psychotherapy
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThe use of psychedelics in a therapeutical setting has been reported for the treatment of various diagnoses in recent years. However, as psychedelic substances are still commonly known for their (illicit) recreational use, it may seem counterintuitive to use psychedelic therapy to treat substance use disorders. This review aims to discuss how psychedelics can promote and intensify psychotherapeutic key processes, in different approaches like psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral therapy, with a spotlight on the treatment of substance use disorders (SUD).Recent FindingsThere is promising evidence o...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - November 13, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Parental Reflective Function in Substance Use Disorder: Individual Differences and Intervention Potential
AbstractPurpose of ReviewChronic substance use among parents has been associated with poor family outcomes. Parental reflective function (PRF), which refers to the capacity to reflect on mental states (i.e., thoughts, feelings, desires) in relation to oneself and child, may be part of the mechanism that increases risk for child socio-emotional challenges associated with parental substance use.Recent FindingsParents in substance use treatment have lower levels of PRF than that seen in general community samples. Within this population, lower levels of PRF are seen in those who have experienced childhood abuse and neglect or ...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - November 6, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Problematic Online Buying-Shopping: Is it Time to Considering the Concept of an Online Subtype of Compulsive Buying-Shopping Disorder or a Specific Internet-Use Disorder?
AbstractPurpose of ReviewProblematic online buying-shopping became a recent research topic, and the question arises as to whether it would be useful to differentiate between a “predominantly online” and a “predominantly offline” compulsive buying-shopping disorder (CBSD) subtype by analogy with gaming disorder and gambling disorder in the ICD-11. This narrative review aims at reflecting the discussions on overlaps of problematic online buying-shopping with both of fline CBSD and specific internet-use disorders.Recent FindingsPreliminary data suggest that problematic online buying-shopping shares many commonalities ...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - October 27, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Blood Biomarkers of Alcohol Use: A Scoping Review
AbstractPurpose of ReviewUnderstanding whether a person has consumed alcohol or not, as well as quantitative assessment of alcohol use, are often based on self-reported measures, which may be subject to recall bias, among other challenges. Although not without limitations, blood biomarkers may complement self-reported assessments to provide a more accurate determination of the presence and quantity of alcohol use. The aim of this review is to provide a critical overview of the current knowledge and research on biomarkers of alcohol use, with a particular focus on blood tests.Recent FindingsThis scoping review summarizes th...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - October 15, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Integrating Desire Thinking into the I-PACE Model: a Special Focus on Internet-Use Disorders
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThis manuscript aims to propose an integration of desire thinking into the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model based on theoretical considerations within the Elaborated Intrusion Theory of Desire and Self-Regulatory Execution Function model and empirical evidence from the field of internet-use disorders.Recent FindingsTheory and research on desire thinking in the context of internet-use disorders suggest considerable relations to craving, metacognitive beliefs, and emphasizes its nature when initiated as a reaction towards unpleasant triggers. Accordingly, we postulate t...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - October 11, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
The Overlap Between Problematic Smartphone Use and Problematic Social Media Use: a Systematic Review
AbstractPurpose of ReviewOver the last decade, problematic smartphone use (PSU) and problematic social media use (PSMU) have emerged as new potential problematic behaviours. Several studies have suggested that smartphones are predominantly used for social purposes (i.e., using messaging apps and social networking sites). The aim of the current article is to provide a systematic review of the extant literature that has explicitly analysed the association between PSU and PSMU in order to examine study characteristics in terms of samples analysed and effect sizes of the associations reported. This systematic review is based o...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - October 7, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Computational Mechanisms of Addiction: Recent Evidence and Its Relevance to Addiction Medicine
AbstractPurpose of ReviewIn this article, we provide a brief review of recent computational modelling studies of substance use disorders (SUDs), with a focus on work published within the last 5 years. While reinforcement learning (RL) approaches are most prominent in recent studies, we also review work from other perspectives that focus on Bayesian (active) inference and perceptual processing.Recent FindingsRecent work in RL shows evidence that goal-directed (model-based) planning processes are impaired in SUDs, leading to impulsive, habitual decision processes focused on short-term reward despite long-term negative cons...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - October 1, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
The State of the Evidence on the Association Between State Cannabis Laws and Opioid-Related Outcomes: a Review
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThis review summarizes studies examining impacts of medical and recreational cannabis laws on opioid prescribing, opioid use, opioid use disorder, opioid-related service utilization, and opioid-involved mortality. We also discuss research challenges and recommendations for future work.Recent FindingsTwenty-one US-based studies published between 2014 and 2021 that assessed state cannabis laws ’ association with opioid-related outcomes were reviewed. Study results were largely inconclusive. We identified six challenges of existing work: (1) inability to directly measure cannabis/opioid substitution...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - September 28, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Neurocircuitry of Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Substance Use Prevention and Recovery
This article examines the current literature of neurocircuitry of MT in SUD.Recent FindingsFew studies have used neuroscientific methods to understand the effect of MT on neurocircuitry linked to SUD. Furthermore, neuroscientific MT studies have primarily focused on cigarette smoking behaviors. Nevertheless, MT may be effective in reducing substance use by targeting neurocircuitry involved in reward, stress, and attention processes.SummaryOur current understanding of neurocircuitry underlying MT for SUD recovery and relapse prevention is limited. Future experimental research is needed to delineate the effect of MT across s...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - September 26, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Controversies and Clinical Recommendations for the Treatment of Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder
AbstractPurpose of ReviewCompulsive sexual behavior disorder is defined as a persistent pattern of failure to control intense, repetitive sexual impulses or urges resulting in repetitive sexual behaviors that cause marked distress or impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. Although compulsive sexual behavior has been identified in the literature for a considerable period of time, it remains a controversial and understudied condition. For the past several decades, compulsive sexual behavior has been labeled and classified in numerous ways.Recent FindingsRes...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - September 13, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
“A Window of Opportunity”: Parenting and Addiction in the Context of Pregnancy
This article aims to synthesize the evidence on the specific prenatal risk factors affecting the development of early parenting of substance-using mothers, as well as interventions focusing on those factors.Recent FindingsBoth neurobiological and psychosocial risk factors affect the prenatal development of parenting in the context of maternal substance use. Maternal –fetal attachment, mentalization, self-regulation, and psychosocial risks are important in treatment and highly intertwined with abstinence. Although parenting interventions seem to be highly beneficial, most studies have not differentiated between pre- and p...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - September 12, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Problematic Pornography Use: Legal and Health Policy Considerations
AbstractPurpose of ReviewReports of sexual violence, especially towards women and children, are rapidly increasing. At the same time, rates of problematic pornography use (PPU) are accelerating across the world too. The purpose of this review is to consider the recent research on PPU and its contribution to sexual violence. The article offers guidance to governments on possible health policy interventions and legal actions to prevent the development of PPU and to reduce the incidence of sexual violence in society.Recent FindingsWorking from the consumer ’s point of view, we identify PPU and ask how much pornography is ne...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - September 9, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
A Translation from Goal-Directed to Habitual Control: the Striatum in Drug Addiction
AbstractPurpose of ReviewDrug addiction starts from recreational drug use, gradually becomes habitual or even compulsive. However, after exposure to addictive drugs, only 20% of individuals finally fall into a vicious cycle of addiction. As the number of addicts worldwide increases year by year, the need for understanding the neural basis underlying addiction is in high demand.Recent FindingsThe intrastriatal functional shifts have been widely recognized to contribute to addiction development, where the nucleus accumbens permits the devolution of its control over behaviour to the dorsal striatum. In addition, compulsive dr...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - September 1, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Substance Use and Addiction Affect More Than the Brain: the Promise of Neurocardiac Interventions
AbstractPurpose of ReviewAddiction and excessive substance use contribute to poor mental and physical health. Much research focuses tightly on neural underpinnings and centrally acting interventions. To broaden this perspective, this review focuses on bidirectional pathways between the brain and cardiovascular system that are well-documented and provide innovative, malleable targets to bolster recovery and alter substance use behaviors.Recent FindingsCardiovascular signals are integrated via afferent pathways in networks of distributed brain regions that contribute to cognition, as well as emotion and behavior regulation, ...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - August 9, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Safer Tripping: Serotonergic Psychedelics and Drug Checking. Submission and Detection Rates, Potential Harms, and Challenges for Drug Analysis
AbstractPurpose of ReviewWith the continuous emergence of new psychoactive substances, drug checking (DC) services are challenged by an increasingly complex drug market. Considering the resumed scientific and public interest in serotonergic psychedelics (SPs) like LSD, psilocybin, and 2C-B, we present the results of a literature search investigating the presence and proportion of SPs in DC samples.Recent FindingsIn 15 identified reports, submission and detection rates of SPs were comparably low, but increasing. Samples contained considerable amounts of adulterations or analogues, mostly novel SPs with unknown toxicological...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - July 27, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
