Progressing from Simple to Multidimensional Models Towards a Biopsychosocial Framework of Addiction
Current Addiction Reports June 11, 2026 DOI: 10.1007/s40429-026-00752-0 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | General addiction populations |
| Topics | Addiction |
| Keywords | Biopsychosocial model Relevance law Perspective graphical Framing construction Psychotherapist Cognitive science Cognitive psychology |
| Key findings | Framing addiction as a multilevel, interactive biopsychosocial process provides a unifying perspective that accommodates heterogeneity in pathways and outcomes. |
Abstract
Purpose of Review: Neuroscientific models of addiction have evolved over the past four decades from single-circuit dopamine frameworks to dual-process, tripartite, and multidimensional accounts. Despite these advances, existing models incompletely account for the lived experience of addiction and for developmental, social, and mental-health factors that contribute to heterogeneity in risk and outcome. This review synthesizes this progression and evaluates the need for more integrative frameworks. Recent Findings: Recent work highlights addiction-related alterations in large-scale brain networks and demonstrates that psychosocial and contextual factors play a more central mechanistic role than previously acknowledged. Emerging interventions, including psychedelic-assisted therapies, further underscore the relevance of multilevel change across neurobiological, cognitive, and affective domains. Summary: Framing addiction as a multilevel, interactive process within a biopsychosocial framework provides a unifying perspective that accommodates heterogeneity in pathways and outcomes. Integrative models may better inform mechanistic research and guide the development of more precise, clinically meaningful interventions.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on addiction, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classic psychedelics: An integrative review of epidemiology, therapeutics, mystical experience, and brain network function. General population | 2019 | Integrative review | |
| Mindfulness meditation–based pain relief: a mechanistic account | 2016 | Review | |
| Psychedelics as anti-inflammatory agents Animal models and cellular studies | 2018 | Review | |
| A narrative review of yoga and mindfulness as complementary therapies for addiction. | 2013 | Review | |
| The neuropsychopharmacology of cannabis: A review of human imaging studies | 2018 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cites 8
- Effects of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy on Major Depressive Disorder JAMA Psychiatry November 4, 2020
- REBUS and the Anarchic Brain: Toward a Unified Model of the Brain Action of Psychedelics Pharmacological Reviews June 20, 2019
- Psilocybin therapy increases cognitive and neural flexibility in patients with major depressive disorder. Translational Psychiatry November 8, 2021
- Psychedelics reopen the social reward learning critical period Nature June 14, 2023
- Towards an understanding of psychedelic-induced neuroplasticity. Neuropsychopharmacology 2023
and 3 more in the library