Each month our editorial team sifts through hundreds of papers and curates notable findings—for practitioners and informed readers who want to stay current with the evidence. Subscribe to the monthly Research Digest for expert analysis and concise summaries of key papers.
Researchers ran two fMRI studies using a gambling task to see how personality and a dopamine gene relate to brain reward signals. Rewards were given either right after a response (Study 1) or after a 7.5-second wait (Study 2). The studies found that people’s extraversion scores and whether they carried…
This 2014 review explains that the brain’s reward system — especially a region called the striatum — responds not only to things like food or money but also to social outcomes such as praise. The authors summarize many studies showing that the striatum carries signals when people evaluate social rewards,…
This report describes 33 open-label treatments with the alkaloid ibogaine given for acute heroin withdrawal in non-medical settings. In 25 of the 33 people, visible signs of opioid withdrawal stopped within 24 hours and stayed absent during 72 hours of observation. The authors note the results are from uncontrolled, non-clinical…
This page describes ibogaine as a plant-derived psychedelic that some researchers are studying for addiction, depression, and PTSD. It says ibogaine can cause strong hallucinations that start within hours and may last up to 24 hours. The page reports some studies and a 2022 review that suggest ibogaine may reduce…
Psychological Types is C. G. Jung’s book that grew from about twenty years of his clinical work. It explains his idea that people have different psychological types—most famously introversion and extraversion—and describes four basic functions (thinking, feeling, sensation, intuition). Jung wrote the book to link his clinical observations with wider…
The study tested whether a single intravenous dose of ketamine given right after reactivating alcohol-related memories could weaken those memories and reduce harmful drinking. People who had their drinking memories reactivated and then received ketamine showed larger drops in urge to drink, enjoyment of beer, cue reactivity, and in drinking…
In this rat study, animals got a single injection of ibogaine at 20 mg/kg or 40 mg/kg and the researchers measured three neurotrophic factors (GDNF, BDNF, NGF) in four brain regions (VTA, prefrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens, substantia nigra) at 3 and 24 hours. The main changes appeared at 24 hours:…
A descriptive open-label observational study of ibogaine in people with opioid use disorder found the drug can produce clear but reversible heart and nervous-system side effects. Reported effects included QTc prolongation (a change in the heart’s electrical timing), slow heart rate (bradycardia), and severe problems with balance and coordination (ataxia).…
This paper reviews what medicines have been tested to treat methamphetamine use disorder in animals and people. The authors say there are still no approved drugs that reliably cut cravings or help people stop using meth. Some medicines helped in animal tests but did not lower meth use in people,…
This paper outlines the structure and function of the "positive valence system," a set of brain and body processes that create positive or rewarding responses. It explains how an ascending arousal system senses bodily changes, activates motivational states, and links those states with sensory inputs to produce Pavlovian learning, emotional…
In 14 people with opioid use disorder who each received a single 10 mg/kg dose of ibogaine, researchers measured blood levels of ibogaine and its metabolites over 24 hours and linked those levels to side effects. They found large differences between people in how fast ibogaine was cleared, and that…
