Addictive disorders and correlates in the context of chemsex practices: A French online survey.

Setting priorities for research in addiction.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with negative consequences for physical and mental health. ACEs are defined as harmful experiences from conception to age 18. They generate chronic toxic stress when exposed to emotional or sexual abuse or a dysfunctional home. ACEs produce "programming" on brain plasticity with immunoneuroendocrinological, cerebral, and epigenetic changes. The result is suboptimal development of physical, mental, and emotional abilities. This "programming" can be mitigated by resilience, family and social support. When faced with new stressors, psychological and physiological dysregulation will occur, exposing the individual to disease. Between the ages of 0 and 17, 55.9% have had 1 ACE, and 30.6% have had ≥2 ACEs. The consequences are aggression, drug addiction, obesity, asthma, depression/anxiety, decreased resilience, juvenile recidivism, and suicide. Pediatricians are the ones who can detect, prevent, and mitigate ACEs.

Interoceptive phenomenology of hangover: A proof of concept for bodily mapping in naturalistic study designs.

Addiction care outcomes between insured and state opioid response grant-funded patients in a Medicaid non-expansion state.

Attenuation of cue-induced heroin-seeking by the atypical antidepressant mirtazapine.

A dual-mode paper-based microfluidic sensor array with high peroxidase-like activity at neutral pH for on-site therapeutic drug monitoring of opioids.

The objective of this study is to investigate parental utilization of smartphones, engagement with social media, and adoption of artificial intelligence tools in child-rearing practices, alongside analyzing their children's technology consumption habits. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the downtown area of an eastern Turkish city. Data collection utilized various forms, including a demographic findings form, the parents' smartphone attitudes form, parents' use of social media and knowledge of artificial intelligence form, parents' use of digital tools in childcare form, children's smartphone use form, and the Smartphone Addiction Scale. The study revealed that smartphone usage led to insomnia at night, as well as neck and hand-wrist pain. Parents utilizing artificial intelligence applications such as Google Bard/Gemini and ChatGPT demonstrated a higher potential for addiction. Those who allowed their infants to watch content on their smartphones between the first and sixth months of life showed a greater potential for addiction, with such content often utilized to soothe the baby during feeding. It was determined that parents who did not pay attention to the use of smartphones in the presence of their children and parents of children who reacted violently when the phone was taken away had higher phone addiction scores. The results suggest that parents who extensively utilize social media and artificial intelligence applications tend to integrate these tools into childcare practices.

Translational animal models are central to understanding both substance and behavioural addictions. This commentary evaluates the proposal made by Tam and colleagues (Tam etal. 2025) that operant light self-administration in mice may serve as a rodent translational model for digital technology-based disorders. While the habit theory of addiction provides a compelling framework for understanding the transition from goal-directed to compulsive behaviour in rodents, evidence from human studies challenge its generalisability. Also considered is the proposition light can function as a primary reinforcer capable of supporting habit formation and draws parallels with the reinforcing properties of short-form video content on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. Although promising as a model for studying visual reinforcement, the approach does not account for broader psychosocial and individual difference factors contributing to addiction. Research should identify the specific visual features that drive compulsive engagement and clarify whether similar neural mechanisms underlie both light-based and digital technology-related reinforcement.

Increasing punitive drug regulations in Japan amplify longstanding tensions within psychiatric practice, pushing psychiatrists to balance clinical obligations with complex socio-legal demands. This article analyzes how psychiatrists specializing in illicit substance use disorders to navigate escalating criminalization by developing diagnostic frameworks such as "carceral harm"-attributing symptoms primarily to policing and incarceration threats-and "future treatability," wherein addiction is an anticipated, incomplete phenomenon justifying ongoing medical care for patients facing imprisonment. Drawing from ethnographic research at Japan's National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry and semi-structured interviews with psychiatrists, the study demonstrates how these clinical interventions simultaneously address ethical demands for compassionate care yet risk reinforcing psychiatry's historical associations with repression. The findings reveal psychiatrists' active role in reshaping medico-legal discourses around addiction, highlighting clinical practice as a site where care and punishment intersect and reconfigure each other in reference to a medico-legal theory of illicit drug addiction.

Addressing the problem of illicit drug trafficking for non-medical use remains a global challenge for the global community, and remains relevant in the 21st century. Determining global, national, and regional trends in narcotic and psychotropic substance consumption, assessing the epidemiological situation (incidence, prevalence), harm structure, and law enforcement indicators (seizures, trafficking routes) are necessary for developing a systemic response to drug-related violence at all levels. This article explores the rationale for transitioning the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic’s anti-drug policy from a reactive model to proactive management based on the principles of a cybernetic viable system and anticipatory governance. Based on an analysis of global and regional trends, it has been established that the drug situation has entered a synthetic-polytoxicological phase, with a predominance of preclinical risk, an increase in acute poisonings, and a lack of synchronicity between law enforcement and medical indicators. The study’s materials included regional administrative reports (Forms No. 11 and No. 37) for the period from 2014 to 2024, records of the Anti-Drug Commission and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, and structured tables on mortality and poisoning. Descriptive statistical methods were used, including comparative-analytical, structural-functional, and modeling research methods. The study demonstrated the effect of asymmetric adaptation — the ability of the illegal market to change chemical formulas and distribution channels faster than control measures can be updated. The aim of the study was to justify the need to implement a three-loop anticipatory management system: monitoring predictive patterns, scenario-based predictive assessment of probabilistic trajectories, and adaptive adjustment of measures in real time. According to the researchers, the proposed digital toxicology surveillance architecture will reduce the time lag between risk and response, shift from recording consequences to managing probabilities, and increase the resilience of the regional healthcare system to new forms of drug addiction.

This commentary complements the arguments by Tam etal. (2025) and offers a comprehensive approach when considering light conditioning in the context of the development and maintenance of problematic Internet use. Thereby, we illustrate the impact of light on humans also within the context of theoretical considerations and empirical studies. We agree with Tam etal. (2025) that there is a need for a better understanding of habit formation within addictive behaviors and we acknowledge the empirical challenges which are proposed in the article mentioned. At the same time, this commentary emphasizes that light should not be considered as an isolated reinforcer, but rather as a complementary component of other conditioned and cognitive tendencies (e.g., use expectancies), as well within the interplay of further processes in addiction research such as craving, attentional biases, and self-control abilities.

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a frequently used recreational drug with significant addictive potential. The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is a key brain region associated with the rewarding effects of drugs of abuse. However, how N2O influences VTA functions to mediate reward-related behavior remains poorly understood. We reported that exposure to 60% N2O, but not 30%, effectively induced conditioned place preference (CPP) reward behavior and simultaneously increased the excitability and glutamatergic transmission of VTA dopamine neurons. Furthermore, we depicted upstream brain regions that sendafferent inputs to the VTA and observed that N2O specifically elevated homocysteine levels in the deep cerebellar nuclei (DCN). Interestingly, pharmacological inhibition of homocysteine production did not significantly reduce N2O-induced rewarding behavior or the glutamatergic transmission to VTA neurons. Instead, despite being an NMDA receptor antagonist, N2O directly enhanced the AMPA receptor-mediated glutamatergic transmission and functionally increased the activity of both DCN and VTA dopamine neurons. Both the optogenetic induction of long-term depression (LTD) in the DCN-VTA neural circuit and the chemogenetic inhibition of VTA dopamine neurons attenuated N2O-induced CPP. Taken together, our findings suggest that attenuating N2O-induced potentiation of the DCN-VTA circuit may provide a novel therapeutic strategy for treating N2O-related reward behavior.

ABSTRACT Background We applied the existential-social psychological perspective of anxiety buffer disruption theory to explain the emergence of psychopathological reactions – post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms, depression, anxiety, and substance and behavioral addictions – following exposure to combat-related threats. Method Israeli reserve soldiers in the Swords of Iron war (N = 357) completed measures of exposure to combat-related threats during the war, attachment anxiety, political voting, mental health (PTS, anxiety, depression) and problematic substance use and behavioral addictions. Results In support of our hypotheses, exposure to combat-related threats was associated with increased severity of PTS symptoms, depression, and problematic alcohol consumption, especially among soldiers with high levels of attachment anxiety and those who voted for left/center-wing political opposition parties (for whom the war might be experienced as a threat to their political views). Among left/center-wing political opposition voters, there were also indirect effects of exposure to combat-related threats, attachment anxiety, and political voting on depression, anxiety, and substance and behavioral addictions via PTS severity. Conclusions Findings highlight the transdiagnosis quality of anxiety buffer disruption theory, specifically of attachment anxiety and political-worldview threat, as predictors of both mental health problems and substance and behavioral addictions.

With repeated exposure to addictive drugs, there is a shift from drug abuse to drug addiction that is mediated by the transition from goal-directed to habitual control. It is well known that the development of habitual control over behavior relies upon cell-type-specific synaptic changes in both D1 and D2 medium spiny neurons (MSNs) in dorsal striatum. Specifically, habitual behavior is mediated by increased synaptic strength in D1 and D2 MSNs in dorsolateral striatum (DLS), suggesting similar cell-type-specific synaptic changes may underlie the development of habitual cocaine-seeking behavior. However, cell-type-specific synaptic changes have not been evaluated in DLS in this context. Therefore, we trained male rats to self-administer cocaine in a self-administration paradigm that allows for differentiation of goal-directed vs. habitual cocaine-seeking behavior. Moreover, we used a viral vector under a D2-specific promoter to fluorescently label D2 MSNs with eYFP in DLS. Evoked excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) were used to determine AMPA:NMDA receptor ratio and the rectification index. Surprisingly, we did not observe any significant differences in these measures in DLS of cocaine-seeking rats, regardless of whether cocaine seeking was under habitual control. Interestingly, preliminary observations revealed significant changes in the paired pulse ratio (PPR), suggesting that presynaptic mechanisms may be involved in the development of habitual control over cocaine seeking. Overall, however, these results suggest there are no changes in postsynaptic strength of D2 MSNs in the DLS of rats with an extended history of cocaine self-administration and regardless of whether the cocaine seeking is under goal-directed or habitual control.Significance Statement The study of drug abuse and drug addiction represents a critical area of research with significant public health implications. Importantly, the underlying neurobiology of the transition between drug abuse and drug addiction is not well understood and insights to this transition may aid in the development of novel treatment options. Behaviorally, the shift from goal-directed to habitual control is thought to underly this transition. Much is known about the neurobiology of goal-directed and habitual behavior, however the transition in the context of drug-seeking is not well defined. We observed no significant differences in measures of synaptic strength, suggesting such postsynaptic neuroplasticity in the dorsolateral striatum is not involved in this transition.

The neurotropic protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii has been linked to behavioral changes and several neuropsychiatric disorders. Given the neurobiological alterations associated with substance use disorders, this study aimed to evaluate the potential association between latent T. gondii infection and drug addiction. In this case-control study, 210 participants (105 individuals with drug addiction and 105 healthy controls) were enrolled. Serum anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies were detected using enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Demographic characteristics and potential risk factors were recorded. Statistical analyses included the Mann-Whitney U test, chi-square test, and multivariate logistic regression. A P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. The seroprevalence of T. gondii was significantly higher in individuals with drug addiction (25.7%) compared to controls (11.4%; P=0.007). However, in the overall multivariate analysis, drug addiction was not an independent predictor of infection (aOR=1.41, P=0.469). Age >30 years (aOR=3.84) and rural residence (aOR=2.50) were independently associated with seropositivity. Sexstratified analysis demonstrated a strong association in females (aOR=8.14, P=0.017), whereas no significant association was observed in males (aOR=0.63, P=0.454). Contact with animals was also identified as a significant risk factor, and opioid use showed the highest infection rate among substance types. The higher seroprevalence among individuals with addiction, particularly females, suggests possible sex-specific vulnerability or exposure patterns. Although drug addiction was not an independent predictor overall, the observed sexspecific association highlights.

Virtual interventions for patients with substance use disorders (SUDs), including intensive outpatient treatment, were developed during the COVID-19 pandemic and later maintained in some clinical settings. However, the effectiveness of this type of intervention in healthcare professionals (HPs) has not been studied so far. This is a quasi-experimental cohort study with both retrospective and prospective data comparing the main treatment outcomes of HPs in treatment for SUDs: (1) 29 patients following a 40-hour synchronous virtual group intervention; and, (2) 31 patients following a an 80-hour in-person group psychotherapy. They both underwent in-person psychiatric and psychological individual treatment as well as addictive drug use monitoring. Logistic regression analyses were performed to find predictors of abstinence from addictive substances and of working status. A Cox proportional hazards regression was used to compare time to first lapse (positive addictive drug use monitoring). Satisfaction rates at the end of each intervention were also compared in both groups using a non-parametric test. The sample consisted of 60 HPs, with a mean age of 49.5 years (range: 30-67). Of these, 53.3% (n = 32) were women. Physicians represented 53.3% of all patients. Patients in the virtual group were more likely to be working during the intervention compared with those in the in-person group. At one-year follow-up, 55% of the sample remained abstinent from addictive substances. After multivariate analysis, the type of intervention did not predict abstinence when controlling for other variables, although having dual diagnosis was inversely correlated with remaining abstinent (OR: 0.24; 95% CI: 0.07-0.85). HPs receiving in-person intervention were more likely to be working one year after the treatment (OR = 8.3; 95% CI: 2.1-33.3). Time to first lapse was similar between groups, although the in-person sample showed a more heterogeneous distribution. Satisfaction rates were similar in both groups. Virtual interventions may be an effective alternative to in-person interventions for HPs with SUDs. More studies are needed to more deeply analyze these preliminary findings.

The Comprehensive Policy for the Prevention and Care of Psychoactive Substance Use in Colombia aims to improve the care provided to people, families, and communities at risk or struggling with psychoactive substance use through prevention and mitigation programs. The effectiveness of these programs depends on both population participation and access to intervention centers. This study proposes a bi-objective integer programming model within a location-allocation framework to support policy decisions under budget constraints. To estimate drug-related risk, we integrate sentiment analysis from social media data (X, formerly Twitter) as a key input into the optimization model. Specifically, negative sentiment derived from posts is used to inform the spatial distribution of risk between locations. The model simultaneously minimizes population-level risk and distance to services, while ensuring equitable coverage based on multidimensional poverty and rurality. The proposed approach was applied to real-world data from Atlántico. The results demonstrated that the bi-objective model achieved an average coverage of 24.67% of the population within a 40 km radius, effectively balancing service accessibility between high-risk urban areas and underserved rural zones. Compared to a population-based heuristic, which achieved only 8.85% coverage and excluded 22 of 23 locations, the proposed model significantly improved equity in service distribution. Furthermore, complementary topic modeling using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) revealed key themes in public discourse, including drug cartels, addiction risks, and social impacts, providing valuable information to support tailored communication and community engagement strategies for new intervention centers.

Astrocytic Ca2+ activity is crucial for maintaining normal brain function. However, the pathophysiological role of astrocytes in the context of addictive drugs remains largely unknown. Taking advantage of two-photon Ca2+ imaging in awake mice, we show that a physiologically relevant level of cocaine induces synchronized and hyperactive Ca2+ signals in frontal cortical astrocytes. Mechanistically, this process occurs primarily through the volume release of norepinephrine from locus coeruleus innervation, followed by the activation of Gq-coupled α1 adrenergic receptors in the prefrontal cortex and the subsequent IP3R2-dependent store Ca2+ release, thus causing hyperactive Ca2+ fluctuations in astrocytes. Importantly, interrupting the hyperactive astrocytic Ca2+ signals either by blocking store Ca2+ release or by conditionally knocking out the astrocytic α1AR rescued FrA neuronal activity and aggravated cocaine-induced locomotor sensitization. These findings revealed that, in addition to neurons, astrocytes can be super-activated by cocaine through the crosstalk between norepinephrine nerves and glia, providing a new perspective for the understanding and clinical treatment of cocaine addiction.

Using structured analysis and design technique to characterize barriers and facilitators to outpatient care coordination after emergency department-initiated buprenorphine.