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In this episode, Dr Tsen Vei Lim talks to Dr Amelie Zacher and Professor Boris B Quednow. Amelie is a postdoctoral researcher and Boris is a professor, both from the Department of Adult Psychiatry, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, University of Zurich, Switzerland. The interview covers Amelie and Boris’s research article on drug-related intrusive memories in cocaine use disorder.What is an addiction memory? [01:20]Examples of addiction memories intruding on those with cocaine use intrusions [02:45]The emotions with reliving addiction memories [04:40]The practical importance of characterising intrusions in cocaine use disorder [06:09]How Amelie and Boris measured the intrusions [08:28]The key findings from the study [09:44]Existing treatments that already target intrusive memories [12:15]What is memory reconsolidation? [15:31]How far are we from implementing treatment of intrusive memories in clinical practice? [17:22]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 and a BSc in Psychology from the University of Bath in the UK. About Amelie Zacher: Amelie is a postdoctoral researcher in Professor Boris B Quednow’s lab for Experimental Pharmacopsychology and Psychological Addiction Research at the University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich and the University of Zurich, Switzerland. Her research focuses on the intersection of addiction, trauma, and memory, particularly intrusive memories and their relationship with craving and emotional distress. Using ecological momentary assessment and experimental approaches, she investigates shared and distinct mechanisms underlying intrusive memories in cocaine use disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder, as well as the potential of memory reconsolidation-based interventions to modify these memories.About Boris B Quednow: Boris studied psychology at the University of Bonn, Germany, and obtained his PhD in neuroscience from Ruhr University Bochum, Germany. He is currently Full Professor of Experimental Pharmacopsychology and Psychological Addiction Research at the Department of Adult Psychiatry, University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, University of Zurich, Switzerland. His research focuses on understanding the neuropsychopharmacological mechanisms underlying alterations in social and non-social cognition and decision-making, impulsivity, and reward processing associated with recreational substance use and substance use disorders.Tsen Vei, Amelie and Boris have no conflicts of interest to declare.Original article: Substance-related intrusive memories in cocaine use disorder are different from but associated with craving https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70449The 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 Dr Julie Brummer, an Assistant Professor at the Centre for Alcohol and Drug Research at Aarhus University in Denmark. The interview covers Julie’s article on drug use disorders among people convicted of large-, moderate- and small-scale drug supply crimes in Denmark.A background on the relationship between drug use and drug supply [00:55]The motivation to examine drug use disorders among people convicted of drug supply crimes [02:45]The methods used in the study [05:15]The key findings on the prevalence of drug use disorders [08:31]The key findings on the group characteristics of drug use history among those convicted of a serious drug crime [10:01]The implications of the findings on drug treatment [11:21]The interpretation of ‘fringe’ players [12:06]Drug treatment in prisons [13:22]The take home messages [14:09]The next steps for Julie’s group with this dataset [14:45]The replicability of this study in other jurisdictions [16:10]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 Julie Elizabeth Brummer: Julie is an assistant professor at the Centre for Alcohol and Drug Research, Aarhus University, Denmark. She is an editor of Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy and an associate editor of Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. She was a consultant for the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe’s Alcohol and Illicit Drugs and Health in Prisons Programmes from 2011 to 2018. Her current research focuses on trajectories into serious drug crime, alcohol’s harms to others, adolescent heavy drinking, young people in treatment for opioid use disorders, and register-based methods.Declarations of interest: None Original article: Drug use disorders among people convicted of large-, moderate- and small-scale drug supply crimes: A register-based retrospective comparative study https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70612 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.

In this episode, Dr Elle Wadsworth talks to Rose Laing, a PhD candidate at the Monash Addiction Research Centre in Melbourne, Australia. The interview covers Rose’s article on psychosocial health and hazardous alcohol use among 50- to 70-year-olds in south-east Melbourne, Australia.Psychosocial health and the motivation to look at the relationship between psychosocial health and alcohol use [01:00]Why 50–70-year-olds are an important population for studying this topic [03:03]The methods used in the study [03:43]What is Latent Profile Analysis [04:50]The four profiles found in the Latent Profile Analysis [06:24]Socialising and drinking alcohol at the time of retirement [07:42]The key findings in terms of alcohol use outcomes [08:12]Rose’s interpretation of the ‘socially connected poor mental health’ group having the greatest probability of hazardous use [09:15]What we can do with Rose’s findings [10:56]The take home messages [12:40]The next steps for the Beyond 50 study [14:02]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 Rose Laing: Rose is a researcher and PhD candidate at the Monash Addiction Research Centre at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Her work focuses on the intersection of population health, ageing and substance use. Her PhD program of work centres on the Beyond 50 cohort study, which is investigating how physical and mental health, social wellbeing, and substance use in adults aged 50 to 70 years can impact individuals’ ability to age healthily. Rose's thesis is investigating the relationship between social isolation, loneliness and alcohol use within this cohort.Declarations of interest: None Original article: Psychosocial health and hazardous alcohol use among 50- to 70-year-olds: A cross-sectional latent profile analysis in south-east Melbourne, Australia https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70603The 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 Janaka Kosgolla and Professor Doug Smith. Janaka is an assistant research scientist and Doug is a professor, both from the School of Social Work at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the United States. The interview covers Janaka and Doug’s research article on joint associations of recovery capital and polygenic risk with electronic health record observed remission and relapse in drug use disorder.What is recovery capital? [01:36]Examples of recovery capital [02:32]What are polygenic risk scores? [03:30]What motivated Janaka and Doug to explore the relationship between recovery capital and polygenic risk scores [07:32]How Janaka and Doug addressed their research question [08:50]The key findings from the study [10:24]Do recovery capital and polygenic risk scores interact with each other? [11:59]Do people with greater genetic risk require more recovery capital? [14:17]Whether we have data on what type of treatment the participants received [15:20]The exploration of mental health within the relationship [16:38]The findings in the context of treatment and policy [18:03]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 and a BSc in Psychology from the University of Bath in the UK. About Janaka Kosgolla: Janaka is an assistant research scientist at the Center for Prevention Research and Development (CPRD) in the School of Social Work at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on adolescent substance use behaviour and recovery, as well as recovery from substance use disorders among adults. He examines how recovery capital, genetic susceptibility, and community resources relate to remission and recovery. He also works on several Medicaid projects, providing SQL programming support.About Doug Smith: Doug has served on the faculty of the School of Social Work since 2008. His research focuses on substance use disorder (SUD) treatment outcomes, especially among adolescents and emerging adults. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), private donations, and internal sources have funded his work. He currently directs the Center for Prevention Research and Development (CPRD) inside the School of Social Work. CPRD has an annual budget of $3.5 million dollars and employs approximately 30 staff members. His recent work focuses on adolescents in recovery. His books include Emerging Adults in Substance Use Disorder Treatment (Oxford) and Motivational Interviewing with Families (Guilford).Tsen Vei, Janaka and Doug have no conflicts of interest to declare.Original article: Joint associations of recovery capital and polygenic risk with electronic health record observed remission and relapse in substance use disorder: Longitudinal evidence from the All of Us research program https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70582The 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.