Addiction Audio

In this episode, Dr Tsen Vei Lim talks to Dr Martine Skumlien and Professor Valentina Lorenzetti. Martine is a research fellow at King’s College London in the UK and Valentina is a professor at the Australian Catholic University in Australia. The interview covers Martine and Valentina’s research article on brain reward function in young people with cannabis use disorder.The idea that the brain reward system is affected in people with cannabis use disorder [01:28]How our understanding of the neuroscience behind cannabis use disorder affects how we treat cannabis use disorder [03:46]The novel contribution of Martine and Valentina’s study [06:06]How Martine and Valentina investigated the brain reward system in cannabis use disorder [08:18]The key findings from the study [09:24]How we think about the neuroscience of cannabis use disorder [12:33]How do we make sense of the findings alongside the current evidence base [14:33]How the findings sit in the theory of addiction as a brain disease [19:50]The wider implications on future treatment of cannabis use disorder [21:55]About Tsen Vei Lim: Tsen Vei is an academic fellow supported by the Society for the Study of Addiction, currently based at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge. His research integrates computational modelling, experimental psychology, and neuroimaging to understand the neuropsychological basis of addictive behaviours. He holds a PhD in Psychiatry from the University of Cambridge (UK) and a BSc in Psychology from the University of Bath (UK). About Martine Skumlien: Martine is a Research Fellow at the King’s College London Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre. Her work focuses on cannabis harm reduction, policy, and impact on the brain. She was previously a research associate in the National Institutes for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Policy Research Unit in Addictions where she conducted research to inform policy within the drug and addictions field, and at the University of Bath where she carried out mixed-methods research into drug checking and detection of novel psychoactive substances. She earned her PhD from the University of Cambridge, investigating how cannabis use influences motivation and reward processing in the brain.About Valentina Lorenzetti: Valentina is a professor, founding Lead of the Neuroscience of Addiction & Mental Health Program, and co-founding Deputy Director of the Healthy Brain and Mind Research Centre at the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne Australia. She also serves as Senior Editor of the journal Addiction. Valentina has dedicated her career to understanding the neurobiology behind how people move into, and out of, addiction and entrenched mental health problems, across Australia, the UK, and Brazil, with a consistent focus on identifying with precision the core neurocircuitry affected and translating that understanding into effective intervention. Valentina’s program combines advanced multimodal neuroimaging, neuromodulation tools, global multi-site cohorts, and novel interventions such as cannabidiol, craving management strategies, and neurofeedback. Tsen Vei, Martine and Valentina have no conflicts of interest to declare.Original article: Brain reward function in young people with cannabis use disorder: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70492 The opinions expressed in this podcast reflect the views of the host and interviewees and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official positions of the SSA or Addiction journal.The SSA does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the information in external sources or links and accepts no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of such information.Music provided by Jack Shakespeare.

In this episode, Dr Elle Wadsworth talks to Patrick Kelly, a doctoral candidate at Brown University School of Public Health in the US. The interview covers Patrick’s article on clinicians' and people who use drugs' perspectives on artificial intelligence in addiction medicine.What is artificial intelligence and how has artificial intelligence been used in the field of addiction so far [01:18]The importance of knowing the perspectives of clinicians and people who use drugs with regards to artificial intelligence [03:39]What aspects of addiction medicine make it difficult to build artificial intelligence tools [05:34]The setting and sample of Patrick’s study [07:46]Patrick’s first theme drawn out from interviews with clinicians [08:57]Patrick’s second theme drawn out from interviews with clinicians [10:19]Patrick’s third theme drawn out from interviews with clinicians [11:30]Patrick’s fourth theme drawn out from interviews with people who use drugs [12:33]Patrick’s fifth and final theme drawn out from interviews with people who use drugs [13:31]How Patrick would like the findings to contribute to the field [15:11]Being cautiously optimistic about artificial intelligence in addiction medicine [17:39]The next steps [19:35]About Elle Wadsworth: Elle is an academic fellow with the Society for the Study of Addiction. She is based at the University of Bath with the Addiction and Mental Health Group and her research interests include drug policy, cannabis legalisation, and public health. Elle holds a voluntary role at The Loop, a non-profit service provider of drug checking in the UK.About Patrick Kelly: Patrick is an addiction scientist, National Institutes of Health (NIH) pre-doctoral fellow, and a PhD Candidate at the Brown University School of Public Health. His research program focuses on measuring multilevel stigma and unregulated drug supply changes using qualitative methods and artificial intelligence tools applied to real-world datasets to design and implement interventions that reduce addiction-related morbidity and mortality.Elle and Patrick have no declarations of interest.Original article: Clinicians' and people who use drugs' perspectives on artificial intelligence in addiction medicine https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70586The opinions expressed in this podcast reflect the views of the host and interviewees and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official positions of the SSA or Addiction journal.The SSA does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the information in external sources or links and accepts no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of such information.

In this episode, Dr Tsen Vei Lim talks to Dr Ariel (Ari) Roxburgh. Ari is a Clinical Psychologist and addiction researcher at Monash University and Turning Point, Australia. The interview covers Ari’s review on controlled breathing and heart rate variability biofeedback for drug use-related outcomes.Please note that ‘HRVB’ used in the recording stands for heart rate variability biofeedback.Why Ari and his team explored controlled breathing [01:18]How breathing helps with drug use-related outcomes [02:20]Other breathing techniques examined in Ari’s review [05:03]The key findings from the meta-analysis [05:36]The difference between the examined breathing techniques [07:39]Whether the included studies accounted for the placebo effect [09:52]Whether Ari's findings apply to different drug use disorders [11:45]How soon controlled breathing can be included in clinical guidelines [13:40]How people can incorporate controlled breathing in their daily lives [15:40]The next steps for Ari and his team [17:06]About Tsen Vei Lim: Tsen Vei is an academic fellow supported by the Society for the Study of Addiction, currently based at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge. His research integrates computational modelling, experimental psychology, and neuroimaging to understand the neuropsychological basis of addictive behaviours. He holds a PhD in Psychiatry from the University of Cambridge (UK) and a BSc in Psychology from the University of Bath (UK). About Ari Roxburgh: Ari is a Clinical Psychologist and addiction researcher at Monash University and Turning Point. His work focuses on novel substance use interventions, peer-led support frameworks, cognition and psychophysiology. Ari teaches in Monash’s graduate addictive behaviours program, served as convenor for the Australian Psychological Society’s Substance Use Special Interest Group, and regularly consults with government stakeholders on addiction policy.Tsen Vei and Ari have no conflicts of interest to declare.Original article: Controlled breathing and heart rate variability biofeedback for substance use-related outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70542The opinions expressed in this podcast reflect the views of the host and interviewees and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official positions of the SSA or Addiction journal.The SSA does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the information in external sources or links and accepts no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of such information.Music provided by Jack Shakespeare.

In this episode, Dr Tsen Vei Lim talks to Dr Emese Kroon. Emese is a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Substance Use and Addiction Research at the Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The interview covers Emese’s article on associations of cannabis use with cognitive functioning in individuals with a cannabis use disorder, looking at the moderating role of nicotine.Why nicotine is important when exploring cannabis use disorder [01:29]What we know about the effects of cannabis on the human brain [02:46]What the effects of nicotine are on cognitive function [04:40]The importance of understanding cognitive function in cannabis use disorder [06:05]How Emese addressed the research question [07:16]The key findings from the research [08:56]How do the findings inform how we currently treat cannabis use disorder [13:15]The differences between Emese’s two samples in the study [16:01]Final thoughts from Emese [18:21]About Tsen Vei Lim: Tsen Vei is an academic fellow supported by the Society for the Study of Addiction, currently based at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge. His research integrates computational modelling, experimental psychology, and neuroimaging to understand the neuropsychological basis of addictive behaviours. He holds a PhD in Psychiatry from the University of Cambridge (UK) and a BSc in Psychology from the University of Bath (UK). About Emese Kroon: Emese is a postdoctoral researcher at Erasmus University Rotterdam and Aarhus University. Her work bridges neurocognition and socio-cultural context to understand substance use and mental health. She's especially interested in accurate measurement, cross-cultural perspectives, and social influence, and is committed to translating rigorous fundamental science into real-world policy and public dialogue on substance use.Tsen Vei and Emese have no conflicts of interest to declare.Original article: Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of cannabis use with cognitive functioning in individuals with a cannabis use disorder: The moderating role of nicotine https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70457 The opinions expressed in this podcast reflect the views of the host and interviewees and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official positions of the SSA or Addiction journal.The SSA does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the information in external sources or links and accepts no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of such information.Music provided by Jack Shakespeare.

In this episode, Dr Annika Theodoulou speaks to Eleanor Bray, a research associate at the University of East Anglia, UK. The interview covers Eleanor’s research article covering a content analysis of illicit vape messaging in young people's information sources.Illicit vaping and why it is an important issue in the UK [01:08]The Tobacco and Vapes Bill in the UK [03:21]How social media platforms like TikTok influence people’s understanding of illicit vaping [04:04]What prompted Eleanor’s team to explore this topic [05:20]The methods used in the study [06:30]The use of a public and patient engagement representative [09:25]The challenges of using TikTok in research [10:41]The main differences between TikTok and official educational resources [12:11]What we can learn from TikTok [15:45]The take home messages [17:15]About Annika Theodoulou: Annika is a Research Fellow at the National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction at Flinders University, South Australia. Her work focuses on health behaviours, including smoking cessation and weight management, with an emphasis on evidence synthesis. She completed a Doctor of Philosophy in Primary Health Care at the University of Oxford, where her research examined socioeconomic inequalities in smoking cessation behaviours and outcomes using quantitative and qualitative methods. Her doctoral research was funded by the Society for the Study of Addiction (SSA) and The Rotary Foundation. Annika is an Associate Editor of Nicotine & Tobacco Research and holds a Bachelor of Health Sciences and a Master of Clinical Science from the University of Adelaide.About Eleanor Bray: Eleanor is a Research Associate at the University of East Anglia, working within the Addiction Research Group at Norwich Medical School and the School of Psychology. She has worked on a range of projects within the Addiction Research Group exploring vaping cessation, smoking cessation and use of illegal and novel nicotine products. Her research interests focus particularly on the relationship between social media and addiction, as well as the role of co-production in facilitating harm reduction among young people. Eleanor has presented her research at an international conference and recently published her first paper published in Addiction.The authors declare no conflict of interest.Original article: #NoIDVape: A content analysis of illicit vape messaging in young people's information sources https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70476The opinions expressed in this podcast reflect the views of the host and interviewees and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official positions of the SSA or Addiction journal.The SSA does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the information in external sources or links and accepts no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of such information.Music by Jack Shakespeare.

In this episode, Dr Elle Wadsworth talks to Dr Tobias (Toby) Atkin, psychiatrist and a research fellow in Addiction Psychiatry at Columbia University in the US. The interview covers Toby’s opinion and debate piece on redefining success in cannabis use disorder treatment.[There are some light knocks/clicks in this episode – we apologise for any disruption!]The motivation behind Toby’s opinion and debate piece [00:50]The treatments that are available for cannabis use disorder today [02:52]The limitations of abstinence-focused endpoints in cannabis use disorder treatment [04:50] What we can learn from tobacco and alcohol in terms of reduction-based outcomes in cannabis use disorder treatment [06:26]Methodological challenges with measuring outcomes for cannabis use disorder treatment [08:23]The tiered outcome framework proposed in Toby’s article [09:26]Different measures of abstinence in cannabis use disorder trials [11:45]The decision to choose frequency over quantity as the core outcome [13:06]The key messages of the article [14:18]What Toby hopes to get out of this opinion and debate piece [16:27]About Elle Wadsworth: Elle is an academic fellow with the Society for the Study of Addiction. She is based at the University of Bath with the Addiction and Mental Health Group and her research interests include drug policy, cannabis legalisation, and public health. Elle holds a voluntary role at The Loop, a non-profit service provider of drug checking in the UK. About Toby Atkin, MD: Toby is an addiction psychiatry fellow in the Division of Pathophysiology and Treatment Research at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and the New York State Psychiatric Institute. He completed psychiatry residency at Columbia and is supported by a NIDA T32 fellowship under the mentorship of Frances Levin, MD, and Christina Brezing, MD. His research examines psychiatric comorbidity and treatment outcomes in substance use disorders, including a latent class analysis of psychiatric subtypes in opioid use disorder treatment and a pilot randomised trial of viloxazine for alcohol use disorder. He maintains a private practice in Brooklyn treating mood and addiction disorders.Declarations of interest: None Original article: Beyond abstinence: Redefining success in cannabis use disorder treatment https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70517The opinions expressed in this podcast reflect the views of the host and interviewees and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official positions of the SSA or Addiction journal.The SSA does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the information in external sources or links and accepts no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of such information.

In this episode, Dr Tsen Vei Lim talks to Sinclair Carr and Dr Jürgen Rehm. Sinclair is a PhD candidate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in the US, and Jürgen is a Senior Scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Canada. The interview covers Sinclair and Jürgen’s updated review of the relationship between dimensions of alcohol consumption and the burden of disease.  How do we determine causality? [01:29]What is Mendelian randomisation?  [02:54]How do we use genes to explore causality of alcohol consumption in later life? [04:40]The context behind this study [06:05]The headline findings from the review [09:28]How can we mitigate bias as researchers? [14:18]How Sinclair and Jürgen envisage the findings to effect current alcohol policy [17:20]The barriers to enacting an effective public health policy for alcohol [20:28]Refining the methods for next steps in this review [23:50]About Tsen Vei Lim: Tsen Vei is an academic fellow supported by the Society for the Study of Addiction, currently based at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge. His research integrates computational modelling, experimental psychology, and neuroimaging to understand the neuropsychological basis of addictive behaviours. He holds a PhD in Psychiatry from the University of Cambridge (UK) and a BSc in Psychology from the University of Bath (UK). About Sinclair Carr: Sinclair is a PhD candidate in Population Health Sciences – Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, US. His research focuses on drawing causal inferences from large observational databases, with two aims: to estimate the effects of pharmacologic and lifestyle interventions, such as alcohol use, on cardiovascular and other health outcomes; and to transport these effect estimates to target populations most relevant for clinical and policy decision-making. He hopes these efforts ultimately help improve the prevention of chronic diseases.About Jürgen Rehm: Jürgen is Senior Scientist in the Institute for Mental Health Policy Research and in the Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). He is Professor and was the Inaugural Chair of Addiction Policy in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, and he also holds other professorships and positions in Canada, Germany and Spain. His work has been awarded with numerous awards and prizes, most importantly, the Jellinek Memorial Award (2003), the European Addiction Research Award (2017) and the (Inaugural) Kettil Bruun Society Award for Advancement of International Research Collaboration (2021).  Original article: A review of the relationship between dimensions of alcohol consumption and the burden of disease: 2026 update including Mendelian randomisation studies https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70435The opinions expressed in this podcast reflect the views of the host and interviewees and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official positions of the SSA or Addiction journal.The SSA does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the information in external sources or links and accepts no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of such information.Music provided by Jack Shakespeare.

In this episode, Dr Elle Wadsworth talks to Dr Louise Marryat, a senior research fellow at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. The interview covers Louise’s systematic review on prenatal opioid exposure, and health, social and educational outcomes for school-aged children.The motivation behind Louise’s systematic review [00:50]The current evidence surrounding prenatal opioid exposure and early outcomes [02:13]What Louise defined as prenatal opioid exposure in her review [03:08] The limitation of small sample sizes in the included studies [04:08]The methods of the review [04:55]The key findings of the review [08:20]The implications of the findings on Scottish health policy [12:38]The take home messages for researchers and clinicians [15:48]About Elle Wadsworth: Elle is an academic fellow with the Society for the Study of Addiction. She is based at the University of Bath with the Addiction and Mental Health Group and her research interests include drug policy, cannabis legalisation, and public health. Elle holds a voluntary role at The Loop, a non-profit service provider of drug checking in the UK. About Louise Marryat: Louise is a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Future Leaders Fellow and Senior Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow. A sociologist by training, she holds a PhD in Psychological Medicine and has dedicated her career to understanding the social, environmental, and psychological factors that shape health and wellbeing across the life course. She currently leads the UK Opioids in Pregnancy Study (https://opioidsinpregnancy.gla.ac.uk/), exploring the impacts of opioid use and treatment during pregnancy on mothers and children. Her research focuses on reducing health inequalities and improving outcomes for children, families, and communities experiencing disadvantage through evidence-based policy and practice.Declarations of interest: None Original article: Prenatal opioid exposure, and health, social and educational outcomes for school-aged children: A systematic review https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70510 The opinions expressed in this podcast reflect the views of the host and interviewees and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official positions of the SSA or Addiction journal.The SSA does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the information in external sources or links and accepts no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of such information.

In this episode, Dr Tsen Vei Lim talks to Dr Anastasia Demina, an addiction physician and researcher at the Dijon Bourgogne University Hospital and Université Bourgogne Europe, France.  The interview covers Anastasia’s randomised controlled triple-blind trial on the efficacy and safety of transcranial direct current stimulation in alcohol use disorder.The current available treatments for alcohol use disorder [01:11]Why transcranial direct current stimulation is needed [03:38]The process of transcranial direct current stimulation [04:51]The key findings of the study [07:31]How transcranial direct current stimulation works among current treatments for alcohol use disorder [12:21]The next steps for implementing transcranial direct current stimulation into clinical practice [16:04]About Tsen Vei Lim: Tsen Vei is an academic fellow supported by the Society for the Study of Addiction, currently based at the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge. His research integrates computational modelling, experimental psychology, and neuroimaging to understand the neuropsychological basis of addictive behaviours. He holds a PhD in Psychiatry from the University of Cambridge, UK, and a BSc in Psychology from the University of Bath, UK. About Anastasia Demina: Anastasia MD, PhD, is an addiction physician and researcher at the Dijon Bourgogne University Hospital and Université Bourgogne Europe. Her research focuses on optimising non-invasive brain stimulation to improve outcomes in individuals with substance use disorders, bridging neuroscience and clinical translation. She has led and contributed to clinical trials, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and international collaborations in neuromodulation and addiction.Original article: Efficacy and safety of transcranial direct current stimulation in alcohol use disorder: A randomized controlled triple-blind trial https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70461The opinions expressed in this podcast reflect the views of the host and interviewees and do not necessarily represent the opinions or official positions of the SSA or Addiction journal.The SSA does not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of the information in external sources or links and accepts no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of such information.Music provided by Jack Shakespeare.