Newly Published

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.