Resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) between the right amygdala and the ventral striatum was associated with gambling craving. Of the subscales of the Gambling Craving Scale, only desire exhibited a significant correlation with amygdala-ventral striatum (VS) rs-FC. Further causal mediation analysis revealed that depressive symptoms mediated this association, suggesting that amygdala-VS connectivity elicits an intense desire to gamble through negative emotions.

4-HIAA crosses the blood–brain barrier. Treatment (1-mg/kg) inhibited CPP acquisition, promoted extinction and prevented relapse. These behavioural effects were associated with changes in nucleus accumbens 5-HT expression.

We examined the optimum parameters for producing conditioned place avoidance (CPA) to the acutely aversive effects of cocaine treatment. We discovered that individual differences, rather than cocaine dose, apparatus type, stimulus modality or conditioning time, were important for expression of cocaine CPA. We further discovered that CPA was associated with low Pdyn:Penk mRNA levels in the ventral striatum of wild-type mice and causally demonstrated that transgenic mice with pre-existing higher striatal Pdyn:Penk expression levels were more resistant to develop CPA. Created in BioRender. Dobbs, L. (2025) https://BioRender.com/b2agzur.

Alcohol misuse impairs sleep whereas physical activity enhances it in ordinary population. Furthermore, sleep disturbances increase consumptions and relapse risk in patients with alcohol dependence. Thus, exercise could be used as a nonpharmaceutic tool to improve sleep in alcohol users. Systematic search of the literature was performed to ensure exercise has been shown to enhance sleep in this population. 4995 articles arose, yet 11 were selected as others did not answer the problematic. None of the selected studies had as main purpose to assess exercise impact on sleep in alcohol users. Yet, in secondary outcomes, 81.8% highlight physical activity's positive association with sleep in alcohol users with or without dependence. More studies are needed to precise programs modalities according to patients’ alcohol use and sleep profile.

This study investigates the effect of alcohol withdrawal therapy on promoter methylation of the oxytocin and oxytocin receptor gene. We found significantly higher mean methylation values of the receptor gene in controls compared with patients across withdrawal and no differences in mean methylation of the oxytocin gene. Our results suggest that investigations of oxytocin as a therapeutic agent need to consider epigenetic regulation of its receptor and gene.

Individuals with Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) exhibit pronounced deficits in interference control, shown by increased reaction times under cognitively demanding tasks. EEG analyses reveal impaired neural activity, characterised by reduced early and late medial frontal negativity (MFN) and diminished slow potential (SP), signalling deficits in conflict detection and resolution. Furthermore, altered oscillatory dynamics—decreased theta power with compensatory increases in beta2 and gamma activity—highlight neural processing impairments that exacerbate cognitive slowing under conditions requiring enhanced executive control.

Using a data-driven approach, we identified three clusters of alcohol consumption at the end of treatment for AUD that were associated with unique drinking trajectories and sex-specific differences. We predicted these clusters using clinical feature data and highlight the utility of data-driven methods for deriving AUD-related phenotypes.