As the first study in an Asian population examining this association, the findings suggest that sweet taste preference may serve as a simple behavioral biomarker to help predict naltrexone response and support more personalized treatment strategies in AUD.
Read more here: doi.org/10.1093/ijnp...
Over 8 weeks, patients with the sweet-liking phenotype showed a greater reduction in alcohol consumption compared with those with a sweet-disliking. The analysis also accounted for smoking status.
Can sweet taste preference predict response to naltrexone in alcohol use disorder (AUD)?
A recent study published in IJNP evaluated whether the sweet-liking phenotype is associated with response to naltrexone treatment in Taiwanese patients with AUD.
• Roluperidone monotherapy for negative symptoms in schizophrenia
doi.org/10.1093/ijnp...
• DAAO inhibition and cognitive impairment: Insights from luvadaxistat
doi.org/10.1093/ijnp...
• Evenamide in treatment-resistant schizophrenia: 1-year Phase 2 results
doi.org/10.1093/ijnp...
• Efficacy and Safety of KarXT (Xanomeline–Trospium) in Schizophrenia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
doi.org/10.1093/ijnp...
• From theory to therapy: Muscarinic receptor activation with xanomeline + trospium
doi.org/10.1093/ijnp...
Our recent collection highlights emerging therapeutic strategies targeting muscarinic, Glutamatergic, 5-HT and related pathways, bringing together clinical trial data and translational insights relevant to clinicians, researchers, and industry.
Featured articles:
🧠Novel Targets for the Treatment of Schizophrenia: Moving Beyond Dopamine
While dopamine blockade remains central to antipsychotic treatment, major unmet needs persist, particularly for negative, cognitive symptoms.
Check the collection for more info: academic.oup.com/ijnp/pages/s...
• Early meaningful improvement often progressed to full response (mood, functioning, QoL)
📌 New Clinical avenue
These data support VNS as a durable intervention that expands therapeutic options for treatment-resistant depression.
Check the paper for more information: doi.org/10.1093/ijnp...
>80% of patients with clinically meaningful improvement at 12 months maintained benefit at 18 and 24 months• Low rates of loss of response over time
• Delayed response observed: up to ~38% of patients without benefit at 12 months improved during the second year
🧠 Neurostimulation is redefining long-term treatment in psychiatry
Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) & sustained benefit in depression
📄 A recent paper published in IJNP reports robust long-term outcomes with VNS in MDD!
📊 Impressive findings:
🧠 Targeting glutamate uptake pathways
By restoring glutamate homeostasis in a reward-relevant brain region, MC-100093 highlights a target-focused, mechanism-driven strategy for AUD pharmacotherapy.
👉 Read more on: doi.org/10.1093/ijnp...
#DrugDiscovery #Pharmacology #CNSDrugs #AlcoholUseDisorder
🔬 Pharmacodynamic and mechanism-of-action insights
MC-100093 demonstrated functional modulation of glutamatergic targets, normalizing ethanol-induced alterations within the nucleus accumbens:
- GLT-1 & xCT,
- NF-κB & p-Akt signalling
💊 Preclinical pharmacology with implications for AUD drug development
This study reports the preclinical evaluation of MC-100093, a novel compound that reduces voluntary ethanol intake in both male and female rats, supporting its potential as a pharmacological lead for alcohol use disorder.
Clinical Perspective: While offering clear mechanistic and safety advantages, the optimization of DORAs continues to evolve around pharmacokinetics and next-day tolerability.
Check more here: doi.org/10.1093/ijnp...
#SleepMedicine #Neuropharmacology #Insomnia #Orexin #DORA #Neurology #Psychiatry
Clinical Distinctions of DORAs:
✅ Preserved sleep architecture: Increase both NREM and REM sleep.
✅ No dependency signal: Long-term use studies show no evidence of tolerance, physical dependence, or rebound insomnia.
✅ Sustained efficacy: Demonstrated in both acute and long-term treatment.
The Orexin System: Understanding the Modern Insomnia Treatment
By pharmacologically targeting dual orexin receptor antagonists (DORAs), this class of agents promotes sleep through a fundamentally different mechanism
DORAs ⬇️ the "wake drive" rather than inducing widespread neuronal inhibition
As the year draws to a close, we wish you and your loved ones a very Happy Holiday season and a peaceful, healthy, and productive New Year.
We look forward to the continued collaboration of the IJNP community in 2026.
On behalf of the IJNP Editorial Management Group
The bottom line: This U-shaped model moves us from trial-and-error toward precision.
✔️Prioritizing DA strategies for low-positive-affect depression.
✔️Exercising extreme caution with DA stimulation in high-trait patients.
✔️Using trait assessment to guide both pharmacological and placebo treatment
➡️For individuals with low positive affectivity, a dopamine precursor increased state positive affect.
➡️For individuals with high positive affectivity, the same intervention reduced state positive affect.
#dopamine #precisionpsychiatry #mood #bipolar #depression #neuropsychopharmacology
Dopamine's link to positive affect isn't linear—it could be U-shaped🧠
The recently published paper in IJNP shows that an individual's trait positive affectivity critically moderates how dopamine modulation influences state positive affect.
In a double-blind design:
🧠 Our brain circuits were shaped under these conditions, and some of the most ancient pathways remain deeply conserved across vertebrate species.
This recent review highlights a fascinating framework: looking beyond mammals and exploring alternative models for studying human mental disorders.
Connect with the international community of neuropsychopharmacology!
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Using pooled data from three Phase 3 trials, the authors show that adjunctive brexpiprazole provides meaningful symptom relief in both minimally responsive and partially responsive patients.
Check the paper for more: doi.org/10.1093/ijnp...
Editor’s Pick of the month!
This month’s featured paper delivers important insights for the large group of patients with major depressive disorder who achieve only limited improvement on standard antidepressants.
They suggest that future research should directly compare oral and depot naltrexone, systematically assess blinding, and account for comorbidities and sex differences to clarify ketamine’s mechanisms of action and guide clinical practice
Check the paper for + info: doi.org/10.1093/ijnp...
A recent commentary by @igorbandeira.bsky.social et al. highlights the steps in clinical trial design that combine ketamine and naltrexone for major depression, allowing for a mechanistic approach.
@stanfordpsy.bsky.social
#depression #opiod #ketamine #resistantdepression #clinicaltrials
Opioid and Ketamine in the clinic: key methodological considerations
The question of whether ketamine’s antidepressant effects are mediated by glutamatergic plasticity or opioid receptor signalling remains a subject of considerable debate.
💊 Distinct D₂R binding poses may produce clinically meaningful differences in efficacy, onset, and tolerability
📄 Read the full study here: doi.org/10.1093/ijnp...
⚙️ Mechanistic insight:
Aripiprazole / brexpiprazole → SBP-dependent binding
→ May help stabilize dopaminergic tone and reduce extrapyramidal side effects.
Cariprazine / lumateperone → canonical D₂R binding, faster dynamics
→ Could underlie different temporal or regional dopamine modulation.
