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Addiction biotypes: a paradigm shift for future treatment strategies?

Molecular Psychiatry (2024)Cite this article

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Human behavior operates within a delicate balance, oscillating between varying degrees of freedom and sharp points of constraint. Among the most potent constraints that can limit our freedom, funneling our brains into a single, relentless focus, are the intricate processes of addiction. Addiction is a chronic, relapsing condition emerging from an interaction between pre-existing vulnerabilities and external triggers. Despite significant strides in unraveling the neurobiological underpinnings of addiction, the quest for consistently effective treatments remains a considerable challenge [1]. The limited availability of validated guidelines to address addiction, along with the modest efficacy of many therapeutic strategies, underscores these inherent challenges [2].

The limited success of current interventions in addressing addiction hints at a fundamental concern: the issue may not inherently reside within treatments themselves, but rather in our understanding and diagnostic approach to addiction, which informs our selection and application of these treatments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, “G. d’Annunzio” University, Chieti, Italy

    Mauro Pettorruso, Francesco Di Carlo, Giacomo d’Andrea & Giovanni Martinotti

  2. Chair of Psychiatry, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy

    Giorgio Di Lorenzo

  3. IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy

    Giorgio Di Lorenzo

  4. Department of Psychiatry and Addiction, ASL Roma 5, Colleferro (Rome), Italy

    Luisa De Risio

  5. Department of Pharmacy, Pharmacology, Clinical Science, University of Hertfordshire, Herts, UK

    Giovanni Martinotti

Authors
  1. Mauro Pettorruso
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  2. Giorgio Di Lorenzo
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  3. Luisa De Risio
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  4. Francesco Di Carlo
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  5. Giacomo d’Andrea
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  6. Giovanni Martinotti
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Contributions

Conceptualization: MP; Investigation: FDC, GdA; Methodology: MP, GDL, LDR; Writing - original draft: MP, LDR, FDC, GdA; Writing - review and editing: GDL, GM.

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Correspondence to Mauro Pettorruso.

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Pettorruso, M., Di Lorenzo, G., De Risio, L. et al. Addiction biotypes: a paradigm shift for future treatment strategies?. Mol Psychiatry (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-024-02423-w

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