A PTSD-Informed Approach to Address Cue-Reactivity in Psychedelic Treatment for Substance Use Disorder

Froelich, Matteo (2025) A PTSD-Informed Approach to Address Cue-Reactivity in Psychedelic Treatment for Substance Use Disorder. Bachelor's Thesis, Biology.

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Abstract

Following treatment, 60% of patients with substance use disorder (SUD) relapse within one year. Relapse in SUD can be partly explained by an altered neurocircuitry that increases reactivity to drug-related cues, driving drug-seeking behavior, and increasing the risk of relapse. Psychedelics have shown promising results in human studies for reducing SUD, but mechanistic research is limited due to the disorder’s complexity. In contrast, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) exhibits clearer cue-associations, where re-experienced trauma-related cues trigger maladaptive fear responses. As a result, psychedelic research has been more extensive in PTSD, but given the shared etiology between PTSD and SUD, translational research may offer insights into treating SUD. Studies indicate that psychedelics reduce cue-reactivity in PTSD by enhancing extinction training and restoring top-down control of the prefrontal cortex over dysregulated subcortical regions. With this, psychedelics in PTSD appear to target the same neural circuits underlying cue-reactivity in SUD. Integrating psychedelic research in PTSD, it is possible that the therapeutic benefits psychedelics have on SUD involve enhancing neuroplasticity and reinforcing connectivity in critical SUD-related regions. Thereby, psychedelics may provide patients with new perspectives on their substance use and allow for the learning of new cue-associations, supporting long-term remission.

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor's Thesis)
Supervisor name:	Scheurink, A.J.W.
Degree programme:	Biology
Thesis type:	Bachelor's Thesis
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	24 Apr 2025 10:43
Last Modified:	24 Apr 2025 10:43
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/35109

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