Research News Roundup: August 6, 2026

Journal: Alcohol Clinical & Experimental Research, 2026, doi: 10.1111/acer.70386

Authors: Ryan M. Sullivan, Benjamin S. McKenna, Weichen Liu, Arwynn McKinty, Camarin Laurance, Craig R. Rush, Nadir Weibel, & Kelly E. Courtney

Abstract:

Background: Attentional bias to alcohol cues is largely investigated using pictorial cues (i.e., two-dimensional images). The addition of eye-tracking metrics has improved these investigations yet are limited by a lack of naturalistic cues. Virtual reality (VR) can theoretically improve ecological validity through three-dimensional alcohol object presentation while utilizing eye-tracking metrics. This report sought to test the construct validity of the Alcohol Cue VR paradigm in evoking subjective craving and attentional bias through measurement of eye-gaze characteristics.

Methods: Participants (n = 105, 53% male, Mage = 38), with varying alcohol use histories, underwent the Alcohol Cue VR paradigm, an alcohol visual probe task, and measures of alcohol craving and VR-related assessments. The Alcohol Cue VR paradigm comprised of three active scenes with alcohol cues present, and three neutral scenes devoid of alcohol cues. Eye-gaze fixation time (index of “attentional bias”) in response to alcohol and control cues was recorded. Forward-stepwise models searched for optimal alcohol-related predictors of attentional bias, then compared against eye-tracking and response time metrics from the alcohol visual probe task.

Results: Alcohol use history, age of regular use onset, recency of use, and binge episodes were significantly associated with eye-gaze fixation time to alcohol cues; how present one felt within the VR scenes did not moderate these findings. Alcohol-related predictors accounted for a larger proportion of variance in VR-based models of attentional bias (ΔR2 = 0.10) than in comparable alcohol visual probe task models based on fixation time (ΔR2 = 0.05) or response time (ΔR2 = 0.06).

Conclusions: The Alcohol Cue VR paradigm provided commensurate measures of attentional bias in the context of alcohol cues. Unique alcohol-related characteristics impacted the extent of attentional bias to alcohol-related cues, exemplifying the utility of VR-derived measurement in assessing alcohol use. Future research can understand whether VR attentional bias is modifiable through treatment and can serve as clinical endpoints.

To read the full text of the article, please visit the publisher’s website.

Journal: Health Expectations, 2026, doi: 10.1111/hex.70794

Authors: Deborah Chassler, Ariel Hayes, Craig McClay, Andrea Macone, Magda Colón, Kim Powers, … Linda Sprague Martinez

Abstract:

Introduction: Incorporating the knowledge of people who use/have used drugs into academic research presents the possibility of new ways of understanding drug use, increasing opportunities for equitable outcomes. Community Advisory Boards (CAB) are part of the community-engaged research continuum offering community members clearly defined roles and a structure to advise academic researchers. Acting in an advisory capacity, CAB members have a platform for sharing community-informed knowledge with researchers. The concept of knowledge democracy suggests that not all knowledge is valued equally, with scientific knowledge often considered neutral or more valuable than community knowledge which is sometimes understood as subjective opinion. Transformative change requires an embrace of knowledge that extends beyond the sole perspective of academic research to embrace multiple ways of knowing.

Methods: We used directed content analysis to analyze minutes from 43 monthly CAB meetings, focusing on member knowledge about opioid use and overdose. We centre the expertise of people who use/have used drugs and propose that academic researchers should listen to and embrace knowledge that is held by the communities and people being studied.

Aims: (1) identify and describe the knowledge Massachusetts CAB members shared with academic researchers and each other during a federally-funded study to reduce opioid overdose fatalities and (2) centre the contributions of community knowledge for the study.

Results: Three themes were identified: (1) CAB members generously shared their knowledge; (2) Members brought attention to root causes of opioid overdose fatalities; and (3) Honest and challenging meeting discussions created solidarity and trust among members and with staff.

Conclusions: This case study makes an important contribution to the literature by highlighting the knowledge that a Community Advisory Board, including people with lived and living experience of drug use, can bring to substance use research. By centering the voices of people with lived and living experience, front line staff, and family members, the study confirms that a substance use research-focused CAB can be an important source of valuable knowledge, contributing to the development of knowledge democracy.

To read the full text of the article, please visit the publisher’s website.

Journal: Alcohol Clinical & Experimental Research, 2026, doi: 10.1111/acer.70354

Authors: Bernard Pereda, & Craig R. Colder

Abstract:

Background: Several alcohol-specific parenting behaviors are associated with adolescent alcohol use. An important next step in the literature is integrating these behaviors into unified risk pathways, which have the potential to inform preventive interventions and public health messaging. Youth involvement in family drinking (i.e., asking children to fetch, pour, and open drinks) reflects parental-approved contact with alcohol, which may present the opportunity for sipping/tasting alcohol with parental permission. In turn, sipping/tasting alcohol with parental permission may increase adolescents’ perceived parental approval of underage drinking, a known risk factor for alcohol use later in adolescence and young adulthood. This indirect pathway was tested and sensation seeking was posited as a moderator of the association between youth involvement in family drinking and sipping/tasting alcohol with parental permission.

Methods: The community sample included 260 parent-teen dyads (adolescents aged 11-12 years; 60.85% White, 28.9% Black or African American, 2.33% Asian, 1.16% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 7.36% identified as “more than one race”). Hypotheses were tested using path modeling.

Results: Youth involvement in family drinking was positively associated with sipping/tasting with parental permission and perceived parental approval of underage alcohol use. Sipping/tasting with parental permission was not associated with perceived parental approval of underage alcohol use. Moderation was not supported.

Conclusions: Youth involvement in family drinking may be the start of an early risk pathway that facilitates sipping/tasting with parental permission and directly shapes adolescent perceptions of parental approval of underage alcohol use. Lack of moderation may suggest that progression to sipping/tasting is driven more strongly by a family environment that approves of alcohol exposure rather than adolescent temperament. Findings highlight the utility of considering different alcohol-specific parenting practices mechanistically in risk models.

To read the full text of the article, please visit PubMed Central.

Journal: Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine, 2026, doi: 10.3949/ccjm.93a. 25088

Authors: Vania Modesto-Lowe, Deanna Sgambato, Jasleen Kaur, & Margaret Chaplin

Abstract:

Kratom use has increased in the United States, commonly for self-management of pain, mood symptoms, and opioid withdrawal. Kratom produces dose-dependent effects, ranging from stimulant-like effects at lower doses to opioid-like effects at higher doses, mediated in part through partial agonism of mu-opioid receptors. Engineered products that contain 7-hydroxymitragynine in high concentrations are now common in the US market. They differ substantially from traditional leaf preparations and are associated with greater risks of toxicity, dependence, and withdrawal. Clinicians should remain informed about kratom products and assess users for adverse effects, potential drug interactions, and addiction.

To read the full text of the article, please visit the publisher’s website.