Monthly research recap
Addiction research: September 2026
What September 2026's 11 new studies found, synthesized from the papers below. All Addiction research →
The synthesis
Synthesized from 11 studies in the library · AI-generated, grounded in the abstracts below
Found by searching the library for Addiction, substance use disorder, dependence, alcohol use disorder, opioid use disorder, then ranked by relevance.
Research indexed in September 2026 points in a cautiously positive direction for treating addiction, but the evidence is mostly preliminary. A secondary analysis of a ketamine trial in alcohol use disorder reported substantially more abstinent days and fewer heavy drinking days, and a small pilot of a smartphone mindfulness app in opioid use disorder reported large quality-of-life gains with most participants abstinent at follow-up. However, reviews of psychedelic-assisted therapy emphasize that mechanistic evidence is largely correlational, that early controlled trials found no durable benefit beyond a few weeks, and that controlled evidence for most novel pharmacotherapies remains limited, so durability and replication are the main caveats.
Evidence by study
Direction is which way each study's own result points, not our rating of the study.
What the directions mean
- Supports:
- the study found the intervention worked, or its hypothesis held.
- Opposes:
- it found the opposite, no benefit or a harm.
- No effect:
- no significant difference either way.
- Mixed:
- effects in both directions within the same study.
- Unclear:
- the abstract does not report a direction.
| Study | Design | Sample size | Direction | Finding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Heavy Drinking Days and Percentage of Days Abstinent in a Randomized Trial of Adjunctive Ketamine for Alcohol Use Disorder: Secondary Analysis of the KARE Trial 2026 | post hoc secondary analysis of a 2x2 factorial RCT | 96 | Supports | Ketamine plus mindfulness-based psychological support produced 78.5% versus 57.8% days abstinent over weeks 17-24 and a 55% relative reduction in heavy drinking days, measured 4-6 months after a 4-week course. |
| The Psychological Self-Foundation Model: External Dependence and the Repositioning of Self-Worth 2026 | theoretical | Unclear | Argues that self-worth overly concentrated in external conditions can turn failure or rejection into global self-negation, and proposes repositioning external sources of worth as additive rather than necessary for self-foundation. | |
| Dispositional mindfulness as moderator between Big Five personality traits and social media addiction 2026 | cross-sectional survey | 692 | Mixed | Neuroticism and extraversion were positively associated with social media addiction and conscientiousness negatively, while dispositional mindfulness buffered the neuroticism link and strengthened the conscientiousness protective effect. |
| 643. A mechanism-informed clinical trial of psilocybin-assisted therapy for opioid use disorder: rationale and neurobiological framework 2026 | clinical protocol | Unclear | Describes a phase II proof-of-concept trial proposing that single-dose psilocybin-assisted therapy may address reward dysregulation, anhedonia, and social functioning deficits, with time to return to opioid use as the primary outcome; no results are reported. | |
| 252. Clinical application of psychedelic-assisted therapy in major depression and addictions 2026 | review | Supports | Argues that psychedelics can transiently reduce brain network rigidity and enhance plasticity, with clinically meaningful effects reported for depression and promising early signals for substance use and eating disorders, though sample sizes and follow-up durations vary. | |
| 720. Unraveling anxiolytic and anti-addictive properties of lysergic acid diethylamide in a model of alcohol use disorder 2026 | phase 2b randomized controlled trial | 198 | Supports | A single dose of MM120 produced dose-dependent anxiety reduction at week 4, with the 100 μg and 200 μg doses significantly reducing HAM-A scores versus placebo while 25 μg and 50 μg did not. |
| Psychedelic therapy without durable effects: A review and re-evaluation of controlled studies between 1965 and 1977. 2026 | review | Opposes | Argues that 11 controlled psychedelic trials from 1965-1977 were methodologically sound for their era and that most found no durable patient improvements beyond a few weeks. | |
| Novel pharmacotherapies for opioid use disorder and opioid withdrawal 2026 | narrative review | Mixed | Argues that ketamine, cannabinoids, psychedelics (notably ibogaine), and incretin-based therapies show preliminary or observational promise for opioid use disorder, but controlled evidence is limited and safety and regulatory barriers hinder psychedelic research. | |
| Through the Looking-Glass: A Scoping Review of Psychological Mechanisms of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy for Substance Use Disorders 2026 | scoping review | 1003 | Mixed | Identified six transdiagnostic mechanism domains across 23 cohorts, with mystical-type experiences most frequently examined and associated with reductions in substance use and craving, though evidence is largely correlational and only one randomized trial demonstrated mediation. |
| Tolerance, physical dependence, and Δ9-THC-like interoceptive effects of cannabinol in mice. 2026 | preclinical animal study | Opposes | Repeated cannabinol administration produced tolerance to cannabimimetic effects and rimonabant-precipitated withdrawal, and cannabinol fully substituted for THC in discrimination tests while attenuating THC's psychoactive effects. | |
| Smartphone-Delivered MBRP and Quality of Life among Individuals With Opioid Use Disorder: A Pilot Before-After Study. 2026 | single-arm before-after pilot study | 14 | Supports | Mean SF-36 quality-of-life scores rose from 40.34 at baseline to 66.57 post-intervention and remained above baseline at 3-month follow-up, with 92.9% session completion and 78.6% free of documented illicit opioid use at follow-up. |
Points of agreement
- Several studies report promising signals for treating substance use disorders with ketamine, psilocybin, or mindfulness-based approaches.
- Reviews consistently note that controlled evidence for psychedelic-assisted therapy in addiction remains limited and largely preliminary.
- Mindfulness-related mechanisms are proposed as protective or therapeutic across alcohol, opioid, and behavioral addiction research.
Conflicts
- A secondary analysis of a ketamine trial reports large, durable abstinence gains, while a review of early controlled psychedelic trials concludes there are no durable improvements beyond a few weeks.
- Reviews describe promising early signals for psychedelics in addiction, yet also emphasize sparse controlled evidence and safety or regulatory barriers.
Gaps
- Durability of treatment effects beyond a few months is largely unestablished.
- Most addiction-relevant evidence comes from small samples, single-arm pilots, or post hoc analyses rather than adequately powered randomized trials.
- Blinding and active control conditions remain problematic in psychedelic trials.
- Populations studied are narrow, including predominantly male pilot samples and nonclinical young-adult survey samples.
- Optimal dosing, dose-response relationships, and mechanisms of action in addiction specifically are not well characterized.