Addiction

Abstinence from alcohol increased significantly following psilocybin administration, with gains largely maintained at 36-week follow-up.

single-group proof-of-concept study Sample size: 10

80% of participants showed seven-day point prevalence abstinence at 6-month follow-up after psilocybin-assisted smoking cessation treatment.

open-label pilot study Sample size: 15

Psilocybin plus psychotherapy led to 9.7% heavy drinking days over 32 weeks, compared to 23.6% with diphenhydramine plus psychotherapy, a significant reduction.

randomized controlled trial Sample size: 95

Chronic, frequent ketamine use is associated with ulcerative cystitis, neurocognitive impairment, and addiction concerns.

systematic review

Classic psychedelics show strong potential as therapeutics for psychological distress, depression, and addiction, and as tools for studying mystical experiences and brain function.

integrative review

Vipassana meditation course participants showed significant reductions in alcohol, marijuana, and crack cocaine use, decreases in alcohol-related problems and psychiatric symptoms, and increases in positive psychosocial outcomes compared to a treatment-as-usual control condition.

quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition

Psilocybin-occasioned mystical experience, rather than overall drug intensity, was linked to biologically verified smoking abstinence at 6-month follow-up.

open-label pilot study Sample size: 15

Argues that serotonergic psychedelics exert therapeutic effects by destabilizing brain network hubs and enabling network resetting, with potential antiinflammatory benefits.

theoretical or philosophical paper

Preliminary evidence suggests mindfulness meditation may be efficacious and safe for substance use disorders, but conclusive data are lacking due to significant methodological limitations.

systematic review

Psychedelic drugs reopen the social reward learning critical period in mice, with a time course proportional to human subjective effects, mediated by oxytocin-dependent plasticity and extracellular matrix reorganization.

experimental study in mice

Ayahuasca-assisted therapy is associated with statistically significant improvements in factors related to problematic substance use.

observational study

Stimulation of 5-HT2A receptors with psilocybin causally explains functional effects in the brain, providing insight into its therapeutic potential for neuropsychiatric disorders.

observational study

Mindfulness meditation significantly attenuates pain through multiple, unique mechanisms, offering a nonpharmacological approach to address opioid addiction.

review

Lifetime use of psychedelics was not significantly associated with increased likelihood of past-year mental health problems, including serious psychological distress, suicidal thoughts or attempts, depression, or anxiety.

observational cohort Sample size: 135095

Participants perceived vivid insights into self-identity and reasons for smoking, along with persistent feelings of interconnectedness, awe, and curiosity, as key mechanisms leading to smoking cessation, with preparatory counseling and study rapport also seen as vital.

qualitative follow-up study using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis Sample size: 12

Esketamine users with comorbid substance use disorder had higher risks of self-harm, suicide attempt, emergency visits, hospitalization, and mortality compared to esketamine users without substance use disorder.

retrospective cohort study Sample size: 30670

Substance use is generally associated with poorer metacognitive functioning, with substance-specific acute alterations in experimental studies and consistent associations with maladaptive metacognitive beliefs and reduced monitoring accuracy in observational studies.

systematic review Sample size: 2852

Ketamine significantly improved short-term abstinence (less than one month) but not longer-term abstinence (one to six months) in substance use disorder.

systematic review and meta-analysis Sample size: 798

Mindfulness-based interventions provide preliminary support for reducing relapse and craving for alcohol, opioids, and stimulants.

umbrella review

S-ketamine, but not R-ketamine, dose-dependently suppresses binge-like alcohol self-administration in male rats, though tolerance develops rapidly with repeated administration.

experimental animal study

Argues that gaming addiction disrupts reflective processing, selfhood, and temporality by misaligning reflective control, which remains intact but is confined to the gaming environment rather than extending to broader life concerns.

theoretical or philosophical paper

Ketamine combined with psychotherapy shows promising reductions in craving and increases in abstinent days for alcohol and cocaine use disorders, but effects on relapse prevention are inconsistent and the drug carries a well-established risk of misuse.

narrative review

Argues that two primary development strategies for ibogaine-based therapies exist—broad polypharmacological compounds and selective bespoke analogs—each with distinct translational trade-offs, and the field must resist oversimplified narratives about derivative superiority.

review

Psilocybin and 5-MeO-DMT show promise as therapies for depression, anxiety, PTSD, and addiction by acting on serotonin receptors and stimulating neuroplasticity.

review

The trial will test whether MDMA-assisted integrated exposure therapy improves PTSD and alcohol use outcomes compared to active control-assisted integrated exposure therapy in comorbid PTSD and AUD.

randomized controlled trial Sample size: 100