This article may help explain addiction science through research on opioid, withdrawal, craving, relapse. The source abstract begins by describing: “Existing pharmacological treatment options for opioid use disorder (OUD) face challenges that limit their efficacy.”
Key finding: This review adopts a translational approach to achieve several aims: (1) to outline the fundamental theories of orexin system function and relate orexinergic dysfunction to the disordered motivation and withdrawal states that characterize OUD; (2) to provide an up-to-date evaluation of preclinical and clinical evidence bases supporting the efficacy of orexin receptor antagonism for the treatment of OUD; (3) to discuss key clinical considerations of repurposing DORAs for OUD treatment, including safety and side effects (i.e., respiratory depression, anhedonia, and risk for abuse); and (4) to highlight the ongoing clinical efforts to determine therapeutic efficacy and safety profiles of DORAs for use in OUD populations.
Translational Psychiatry • 24 Oct 2025 • Reviews
opioidwithdrawalcravingrelapsemental healthtreatment
Read plain-English summary Open source
This article may help explain addiction science through research on opioid, cocaine, brain science, withdrawal. The source abstract begins by describing: “Persistent vulnerability to drug-seeking is driven by enduring synaptic adaptations, yet current μ-opioid receptor-targeting pharmacotherapies provide limited efficacy against these neuroadaptations.”
Key finding: By targeting a pathway independent of classical opioid receptor signaling, CA4 inhibition represents a mechanistically distinct strategy that may reduce relapse vulnerability in OUD.
Neuropsychopharmacology • 21 Jan 2026 • Research
opioidcocainebrain sciencewithdrawalrelapsetreatment
Read plain-English summary Open source
This article may help explain addiction science through research on opioid, brain science, withdrawal, relapse. The source abstract begins by describing: “Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a chronic relapsing disorder that is a major burden for the lives of affected individuals, and society as a whole.”
Key finding: Altogether, these animal models will contribute to study behavioural and neuronal circuitries involved in the several negative affective signs characterizing OUD.
Scientific Reports • 29 Apr 2024 • Research
opioidbrain sciencewithdrawalrelapsemental healthtreatment
Read plain-English summary Open source
This article may help explain addiction science through research on opioid, alcohol, dopamine, brain science. The source abstract begins by describing: “Opioid-alcohol polysubstance use is prevalent and worsens treatment outcomes.”
Key finding: Thus, alcohol alters the motivation to seek oxycodone in a sex-dependent manner and the neural circuitry engaged by cue-primed reinstatement of sucrose and oxycodone-seeking.
Scientific Reports • 06 Nov 2023 • Research
opioidalcoholdopaminebrain sciencerelapsetreatment
Read plain-English summary Open source
This article may help explain addiction science through research on alcohol, cannabis, nicotine, dopamine. The source abstract begins by describing: “In this Opinion article, Nutt and colleagues examine the history of and current evidence for the dopamine theory of addiction.”
Key finding: These observations have implications for understanding reward and treatment responses in various addictions.
Nature Reviews Neuroscience • 15 Apr 2015 • Reviews
alcoholcannabisnicotinedopaminebrain sciencetreatment
Read plain-English summary Open source