Linking Clinical and Basic Science Discovery to Find New Treatments for Alcohol Use Disorder

Assessing the utility of the neurosteroid zuranolone to modify alcohol-related behaviours

LT Ursich, AJ Pearl, XJ Maddern, AJ Lawrence, LC Walker

2026-05-01

Alcohol use is a leading risk factor for premature mortality, yet effective pharmacotherapies remain limited. Neurosteroids, such ..

Chronic alcohol consumption and abstinence disrupt cholinergic gene expression in the mesopontine tegmentum of alcohol-preferring iP rats

SP Vaidya, DL Spark, LC Walker, P Pinares-Garcia, RG Anversa, AJ Lawrence

2026-03-26

AbstractThe mesopontine tegmentum (MPT), consisting of the pedunculopontine tegmentum (PPTg) and laterodorsal tegmentum (LDTg) reg..

Bed nucleus of stria terminalis enkephalin neurons contribute to depletion-induced salt appetite.

Roberta Goncalves Anversa, Kathleen S-L Teng, Aida Viden, Sarah S Ch'ng, Brandon K Richards, Tobian Catsburg, Amy J Pearl, Leigh C Walker, Christina J Perry, Craig M Smith, Andrew J Lawrence

2026-03-17

The overconsumption of sodium contributes to a wide range of detrimental health conditions. Thus, it is imperative to gain a bette..

Efficacy of a personalised alcohol approach bias modification smartphone app in people accessing outpatient alcohol use disorder treatment: A randomised controlled trial

JBB Garfield, B Rowland, SK Liu, H Piercy, Y Bonomo, D Whelan, V Manning

2026-01-01

Background and aims: Several randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have demonstrated that delivering approach bias modification (ApB..

FGF21 analogue PF-05231023 on alcohol consumption and neuronal activity in the nucleus accumbens

BJ Cooley, CV Occelli Hanbury-Brown, EA Choi, WA Heller, AW Lim, AJ Lawrence, PS Haber, GP McNally, EZ Millan

2026-01-01

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is a liver-derived hormone known to suppress alcohol consumption in mice and non-human primate..

MDMA alters fear extinction, and reduces alcohol consumption in inbred alcohol preferring iP rats but not outbred Wistar rats

KL Huckstep, B Newton, G Bailey, A Charlton, AJ Pearl, XJ Maddern, RM Brown, GP McNally, DI Lubman, S Arunogiri, KC Morley, EJ Campbell, AJ Lawrence, LC Walker

2026-01-01

Comorbidity between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use is common and mutually-reinforcing, yet there are no pha..

The Effect of Serotonin 5-HT2C Receptor Modulation on Binge Drinking and Alcohol-Seeking in Female Mice

R Anversa, L Tran, A Bolinger, J Zhou, K Cunningham, A Lawrence, E Campbell

2025-11-01

Alcohol misuse remains a leading cause of preventable death worldwide, prompting research into novel pharmacotherapies for alcohol..

Hunger alters approach-avoidance behaviours differently in male and female mice

RG Anversa, G Goldstein, I Syed, H Dempsey, A Pearl, XJ Maddern, B Newton, RM Brown, FM Reed, AJ Lawrence, LC Walker

2025-09-01

Background: The decision about whether to approach or avoid a reward while under threat requires balancing competing demands. Sex-..

Inhibition of HCN channels decreases motivation for alcohol and deprivation-induced drinking in alcohol preferring rats

SP Vaidya, RG Anversa, P Pinares-Garcia, LC Walker, N Pracejus, CA Reid, AJ Lawrence

2025-06-01

Globally, around 400 million people live with an alcohol use disorder (AUD), yet current treatments available are suboptimal at a ..

Sex- and age-dependent impacts of nicotine and ethanol binge drinking on the brain: Insights from preclinical research

SJ Farias Cardozo, AJ Lawrence, RG Anversa

2025-02-01

Electronic cigarette use among adolescents is a growing concern, not only due to the high incidence of co-use with other substance..

Drug delivery strategies for the treatment of relapse behavior in substance use disorder- A systematic review

M Sihag, M Varma, R Bhandari, AJ Lawrence

2025-01-16

Substance use disorders (SUDs) pose a significant global health challenge, with relapse being a major obstacle in achieving succes..

Comparative effects of topiramate and naltrexone on neural activity during anticipatory anxiety in individuals with alcohol use disorder

G Dali, W Logge, HR Kranzler, T Hurzeler, H Gallagher, PS Haber, KC Morley

2025-01-01

Topiramate has been found to be effective in reducing alcohol use and may also attenuate anxiety severity in patients with alcohol..

Midbrain ghrelin receptor signalling regulates binge drinking in a sex specific manner

AJ Pearl, XJ Maddern, P Pinares-Garcia, LT Ursich, RG Anversa, A Shesham, RM Brown, FM Reed, WJ Giardino, AJ Lawrence, LC Walker

2025-01-01

Risky drinking rates are rising, particularly in women, yet sex as a biological variable has only recently gained traction. The ce..

Targeting muscarinic receptors for the treatment of alcohol use disorders: Opportunities and hurdles for clinical development

LC Walker, KL Huckstep, HC Becker, CJ Langmead, AJ Lawrence

2024-11-01

Emerging evidence suggests muscarinic acetylcholine receptors represent novel targets to treat alcohol use disorder. In this revie..

Real-time fMRI-based neurofeedback to restore brain function in substance use disorders: A systematic review of the literature

Ethan Murphy, Govinda Poudel, Saampras Ganesan, Chao Suo, Victoria Manning, Emillie Beyer, Adam Clemente, Bradford A Moffat, Andrew Zalesky, Valentina Lorenzetti

2024-10-01

INTRODUCTION: Real-time functional magnetic resonance based-neurofeedback (fMRI-neurofeedback) is a neuromodulation tool where ind..

Sex Differences in Alcohol Use: Is It All About Hormones?

XJ Maddern, LT Ursich, G Bailey, A Pearl, RG Anversa, AJ Lawrence, LC Walker

2024-09-01

Risky alcohol use and alcohol use disorders (AUD) are a rising problem in women, yet a major disparity in our understanding of wha..

Understanding sex differences and the translational value of models of persistent substance use despite negative consequences

XJ Maddern, LC Walker, RG Anversa, AJ Lawrence, EJ Campbell

2024-09-01

Persistent substance use despite negative consequences is a key facet of substance use disorder. The last decade has seen the prec..

Viscerosensory signalling to the nucleus accumbens via the solitary tract nucleus

SJ McDougall, ZY Ong, R Heller, A Horton, KK Thek, EA Choi, GP McNally, AJ Lawrence

2024-09-01

The nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) receives direct viscerosensory vagal afferent input that drives autonomic reflexes, neuroe..

Emerging GPCR targets for AUD: Insights from preclinical studies

RG Anversa, ML Barron, LC Walker, AJ Lawrence

2024-08-01

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest group of membrane receptors in the central nervous system and one of the key p..

The dual orexin receptor antagonist suvorexant in alcohol use disorder and comorbid insomnia: A case report

Erin J Campbell, Yvonne Bonomo, Lisa Collins, Amanda Norman, Helen O'Neill, Amanda Streitberg, Kate Galloway, Andrew Kyoong, Andrew Perkins, Adam Pastor, Andrew J Lawrence

2024-05-01

KEY CLINICAL MESSAGE: This case suggests using dual orexin receptor antagonists to treat alcohol use disorder and comorbid sleep d..

Orphan peptide and G protein-coupled receptor signalling in alcohol use disorder

Roberta Goncalves Anversa, Xavier J Maddern, Andrew J Lawrence, Leigh C Walker

2024-03-01

Neuropeptides and G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) have long been, and continue to be, one of the most popular target classes f..

Cocaine and amphetamine regulated transcript (CART) mediates sex differences in binge drinking through central taste circuits

XJ Maddern, B Letherby, SS Ch’ng, A Pearl, A Gogos, AJ Lawrence, LC Walker

2024-02-01

The neuropeptide cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) has been implicated in alcohol consumption and reward behavi..

Electric barrier-induced voluntary abstinence reduces alcohol seeking in male, but not female, iP rats.

Xavier J Maddern, Andrew J Lawrence, Erin J Campbell

2024-02-01

Maintaining abstinence and preventing relapse are key to the successful recovery from alcohol use disorder. There are two main way..

Molecular Profiling of VGluT1 AND VGluT2 Ventral Subiculum to Nucleus Accumbens Shell Projections

S Jin, EJ Campbell, CK Ip, S Layfield, RAD Bathgate, H Herzog, AJ Lawrence

2023-08-01

The nucleus accumbens shell is a critical node in reward circuitry, encoding environments associated with reward. Long-range input..

Pathways to the persistence of drug use despite its adverse consequences

GP McNally, P Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel, EZ Millan, AJ Lawrence

2023-06-01

The persistence of drug taking despite its adverse consequences plays a central role in the presentation, diagnosis, and impacts o..

Can we enhance the clinical efficacy of cognitive and psychological approaches to treat substance use disorders through understanding their neurobiological mechanisms?

XJ Maddern, LC Walker, EJ Campbell, S Arunogiri, PS Haber, K Morley, V Manning, EZ Millan, GP McNally, DI Lubman, AJ Lawrence

2022-11-01

Despite decades of research in the field of addiction, relapse rates for substance use disorders remain high. Consequently, there ..