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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.