Mindfulness in Treatment Approaches for Addiction — Underlying Mechanisms and Future Directions
AbstractPurpose of ReviewWhile the treatment of addictive disorders proves to be challenging, new treatment approaches that evolved around the concepts of mindfulness and acceptance have been utilized and investigated in recent years. Our goal is to summarize the efficacy and possible underlying mechanisms of mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) in addictive disorders.Recent FindingsVarious meta-analyses have suggested that MBIs show clinical efficacy in the treatment of addictive disorders. Considering the factors that impact addictive disorders, MBIs have been indicated to augment responsiveness to natural rewards in co...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - May 15, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
The Use of Social Media in Research on Gambling: a Systematic Review
AbstractPurpose of ReviewSocial media enables a range of possibilities in the way gamblers and gambling operators interact and content communicate with gambling. The purpose of this systematic review was to synthesise the extant literature to identify the ways in which social media has been investigated in the context of gambling.Recent FindingsA systematic review of the literature identified 41 papers that collected primary data pertinent to gambling and social media from multiple disciplines. These papers broadly fell into three themes: communication, community and calculation (of sentiment). Papers on communication focu...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - May 11, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
How Do State Gambling Monopolies Affect Levels of Gambling Harm?
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThis systematic literature review evaluates the potential of gambling monopolies to affect gambling harms. It compares the occurrence of gambling harms in jurisdictions with gambling monopolies to jurisdictions with license-based regimes.Recent FindingsThe review identified 21 publications concerning three gambling-related harm indicators: problem gambling prevalence, total consumption, and the appearance of conflicts of interest. Due to the dearth of literature, concept papers and older publications were also included.SummaryResults show that there is a paucity of empirical research on the effecti...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - May 8, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Understanding the Slot Machine Zone
This article summarizes two prominent theoretical accounts of this state and articulates a new account that seeks to integrate them.Recent FindingsZone experiences are correlated with gambling problems and may be amplified by specific features of EGMs and other modern gambling formats. Links with excitement, relaxation, and depression have been found, implicating both positive and negative reinforcement processes. Emerging evidence suggests gamblers in the zone are more focused on EGM use ( ‘zoned in’). Models rooted in either Flow Theory or dissociation do not fully account for these effects.SummaryIntegrating earlier...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - May 1, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Contribution of Game Genre and Structural Game Characteristics to the Risk of Problem Gaming and Gaming Disorder: a Systematic Review
AbstractPurpose of ReviewWith its inclusion in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 11th Revision, gaming disorder (GD) has been officially recognized as a behavioral addiction. Etiological models of GD refer to the interaction of personal, environmental, and game-related risk factors. However, the role of video game characteristics in the development of problem gaming and GD is not well understood. This systematic review summarizes the literature that examines the association between video game genres and structural characteristics and GD symptoms.Recent FindingsRecent stud...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - April 23, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
New and Emerging Opioid Overdose Risk Factors
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThe purpose of this review is to provide a review of the current literature surrounding opioid overdose risk factors, focusing on relatively new factors in the opioid crisis.Recent FindingsBoth a market supply driving force and a subpopulation of people who use opioids actively seeking out fentanyl are contributing to its recent proliferation in the opioid market. Harm reduction techniques such as fentanyl testing strips, naloxone education and distribution, drug sampling behaviors, and supervised injection facilities are all seeing expanded use with increasing amounts of research being published r...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - April 22, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
The Role of Mu-Opioids for Reward and Threat Processing in Humans: Bridging the Gap from Preclinical to Clinical Opioid Drug Studies
AbstractPurpose of ReviewOpioid receptors are widely expressed in the human brain. A number of features commonly associated with drug use disorder, such as difficulties in emotional learning, emotion regulation and anhedonia, have been linked to endogenous opioid signalling. Whereas chronic substance use and misuse are thought to alter the function of the mu-opioid system, the specific mechanisms are not well understood. We argue that understanding exogenous and endogenous opioid effects in the healthy human brain is an essential foundation for bridging preclinical and clinical findings related to opioid misuse. Here, we w...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - April 15, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Sources of Bias in Research on Gambling Among Older Adults: Considerations for a Growing Field
AbstractPurpose of ReviewThe purpose of this review was to identify possible sources of bias in the study of gambling among older adults. These sources of bias included social desirability bias including issues of increased stigmatization of gambling behaviors in older adults, recall bias including deficits in the recall of negative experiences, and selection bias including increased reliance on survey methods that are more likely to exclude older adults.Recent FindingsDue to the paucity of research directly examining sources of bias in the study of older adult gambling, this review took recent developments in the field of...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - April 14, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Effects of Acute Drug Administration on Emotion: a Review of Pharmacological MRI Studies
AbstractPurpose of ReviewMany drug users claim to use drugs to cope with negative emotions, which may, in turn, result in persistent emotional blunting or anhedonia even when they are not using drugs. The purpose of this review is to describe the ways acute administration of psychoactive drugs impacts brain regions during emotion-related tasks, as a first step in understanding how drugs influence emotion processing in the brain.Recent FindingsDrugs have varying effects on neural responses to emotional stimuli. In general, alcohol, analgesics, and psychedelics reduce neural reactivity to negative emotional stimuli in the am...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - March 14, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Suicide Risk and Addiction: The Impact of Alcohol and Opioid Use Disorders
AbstractPurpose of ReviewSuicide is a major public health concern and a leading cause of death in the US. Alcohol and opioid use disorders (AUD/OUD) significantly increase risk for suicidal ideation, attempts, and death, and are the two most frequently implicated substances in suicide risk. We provide a brief overview of shared risk factors and pathways in the pathogenesis of AUD/OUD and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. We also review clinical recommendations on inpatient care, pharmacotherapy, and psychotherapeutic interventions for people with AUD/OUD and co-occurring suicidal ideation and behavior.Recent FindingsAmong p...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - March 14, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Image-Based Sexual Abuse: Social and Legal Implications
This article covers the current state of social scientific knowledge on this key variant of digitized sexual violence and suggests new direc tions in empirical work.Recent FindingsA rapidly growing body of research shows that image-based sexual abuse is committed mainly by men against women and it often co-occurs with offline forms of male-to-female assaults like rape, stalking, and beatings. Additionally, to further understand the scope of factors that contribute to the problems of online image-based sexual abuse online, researchers should examine the relationship between image-based sexual abuse and pornography consumpti...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - March 6, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Cardiorespiratory and Immunologic Effects of Electronic Cigarettes
AbstractPurpose of ReviewAlthough e-cigarettes have become popular, especially among youth, the health effects associated with e-cigarette use remain unclear. This review discusses current evidence relating to the cardiovascular, pulmonary, and immunological effects of e-cigarettes.Recent FindingsThe use of e-cigarettes by healthy adults has been shown to increase blood pressure, heart rate, and arterial stiffness, as well as resistance to air flow in lungs. Inhalation of e-cigarette aerosol has been shown to elicit immune responses and increase the production of immunomodulatory cytokines in young tobacco-na ïve individu...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - March 5, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
A Gender Perspective of Addictive Disorders
AbstractPurpose of ReviewSubstance use disorders (SUD) affect differentially women and men. Although the prevalence has been reported higher in men, those women with addictive disorders present a more vulnerable profile and are less likely to enter treatment than men. The aim of this paper is to present an overview of how sex and gender may influence epidemiology, clinical manifestations, social impact, and the neurobiological basis of these differences of women with SUD, based on human research.Recent FindingsThe differences in prevalence rates between genders are getting narrower; also, women tend to increase the amount ...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - February 16, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Exercise Addiction and Perfectionism: A Systematic Review of the Literature
ConclusionPerfectionism is related to exercise addiction, but the strength of the relationship varies in different circumstances, which should be examined in future research. (Source: Current Addiction Reports)
Source: Current Addiction Reports - February 9, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
Financially Focused Self-concept in Disordered Gambling
AbstractPurpose of ReviewPeople can place preponderant importance on a single life domain (e.g., relationships, appearance, financial success). The result is that success (or failure) in that domain has significant influence on the self-concept and thus judgments of self-worth. A focused self-concept has also been shown to be a core feature of various psychiatric disorders, including depression, body image disorders, and obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. Herein, we summarize mounting evidence indicating that a self-concept focused on financial success is important for understanding the etiology and maintenance of...
Source: Current Addiction Reports - February 4, 2021 Category: Addiction Source Type: research
