Emerging Interventions in Behavioral Addictions: A Narrative Review of Psychedelics and Neuromodulation

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Addiction is a major public health issue with high relapse rates and few effective treatments.
• Current pharmacotherapies for behavioral addictions are limited, necessitating innovative approaches.
• Behavioral addictions involve complex disruptions in reward, executive control, and stress networks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review psychedelic compounds and neuromodulation techniques for behavioral addictions.
• To explore their mechanisms of action, applications, and potential for treating specific disorders.
• To identify future research directions for these emerging therapies.

Main Methods:

• This is a narrative review synthesizing current research on psychedelic compounds and neuromodulation.
• The review focuses on the application of these therapies in gambling disorder, internet gaming disorder, internet use disorder, and compulsive sexual behavior disorder.
• Mechanisms of action and translational potential are key areas of investigation.

Main Results:

• Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and neuromodulation target key neural networks implicated in behavioral addictions.
• These interventions show potential for improving treatment retention and achieving long-term remission.
• Current research highlights promising but preliminary findings for these novel therapeutic strategies.

Conclusions:

• Psychedelic compounds and neuromodulation represent promising frontiers in addiction treatment.
• Targeting disrupted neural circuits may offer effective interventions for treatment-refractory behavioral addictions.
• Further research is crucial to integrate these novel therapies into clinical practice for gambling disorder, gaming disorder, internet use disorder, and compulsive sexual behavior disorder.